Since 2012, when Nicoleta Nicoara joined the Laboratory for Nanostructured Solar Cells,  her research activity is dedicated to the development and application of advanced scanning probe microscopy tools and methodologies for the characterization of the optoelectronic properties of chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ semiconductor materials used in high efficiency solar cells.

Nicoleta Nicoara obtained a Ph.D. (2007) in Condensed Matter Physics from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) working on the nanoscale characterization of organic/inorganic interfaces used in optoelectronic devices.  As a post-doctoral researcher at UAM (2007-2011), she developed a low-temperature scanning probe microscope for atomic scale characterization of low-dimensional systems. 

• N. Nicoara, T. Lepetit, L. Arzel, S. Harel, N. Barreau, and S. Sadewasser
  Effect of the KF post deposition treatment on grain boundary properties in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films
  Sci. Rep., 7, 41361-41368 (2017)

• Nicoara, N. et al.
  Evidence for Chemical and Electronic Nonuniformities in the Formation of the Interface of RbF-Treated Cu(In,Ga)Se2 with CdS
  ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 9, 44173–44180 (2017)

• Nicoara, N. et al.
  Impact of KF Post-Deposition Treatment on Aging of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Surface and Its Interface with CdS
  ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 1, 2681–2688 (2018)

• Nicoara, N. et al.
  Direct evidence for grain boundary passivation in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells through alkali-fluoride post-deposition treatments
  Nat. Commun. 10, 1–8 (2019)

• Siebentritt, S. et al.
  Heavy Alkali Treatment of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 Solar Cells: Surface versus Bulk Effects
  Adv. Energy Mater. 10, 1903752 (2020)