David Ginger

David S. Ginger is an American physical chemist. He is the Alvin L. and Verla R. Kwiram endowed professor of chemistry at the University of Washington. He is also a Washington Research Foundation distinguished scholar, and Chief Scientist of the University of Washington Clean Energy Institute. In 2018 he was elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences for his work on the microscopic investigation of materials for thin-film semiconductors.

Ginger has BS degrees from Indiana University Bloomington in Chemistry and Physics, and a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge, where his thesis advisor was Neil Greenham where he was a Marshall Scholar.

Scanning probe microscopy

Ginger has used scanning probe microscopy to examine the properties of nanoparticles. Research is conducted using a variety of different microscopy techniques, primarily Atomic Force Microscopy methods. He hopes to make analyses of condensed phase nano materials as common as analyses using optical microscopy techniques. The lab has used these microscopy techniques primarily for the study of voltaic and ionic transport materials such as those used in batteries. Microscopy is also useful for studying nanoscale properties of organic photovoltaic systems such as injection, transport, and trapping. Ginger's group at the University of Washington has unique imaging capabilities that are used to better understand the electronic geometry and charge mechanics of semiconducting materials to create theory based products.

Solar energy and electronic materials

One focus of Ginger's career has been the development of more efficient and effective methods of solar energy capture. Ginger's group has developed of thin film semiconductors that are sturdier and less expensive to manufacture than traditional silicon solar panels. The development of these semi conductors that can be cast onto flexible surfaces has opened a wide range of possibilities of future applications. The group conducts research on a variety of different types of solar cell components including perovskites, organic semiconductors, and colloidal quantum dots.

Plasmonics and nanophotonic materials

Materials at the nano scale have unique properties that differ dramatically from the atomic and macro scales. The interface between quantum and classical mechanics is a developing field that remains largely untapped. The Ginger lab has extensively studied the properties of quantum dots with a focus on exciton properties and charge transfer mechanics. Nanoparticles such as quantum dots may be able to increase the efficiency of light harvesting by regulating the wavelength and intensity of incoming light. The immediate applications of this research is the investigation of plasmonic nanoparticles. The unique properties of these materials allow them to act as nano-scale antenna, amplifying and focusing optical signals. Current efforts are focused on improving the effectiveness of nanoparticles in sensing applications below the light diffraction limit.

Bio-inspired materials and sensing

Ginger's group been instrumental in pioneering DNA directed assembly techniques for nano materials. They have also developed nano-materials that can be optically activated through isomerization of the DNA spacers between the particles. The conversion between the cis and trans forms of the DNA strand either allows or inhibits bonding between DNA strands. Coupled with the high specificity characteristic of DNA molecules, this allows for the structure and size of nanoparticles to be closely controlled with light. The long term goal of this research is to develop a method of controlled materials assembly, but DNA's high degradation tendency limits practical applications. Ginger's lab is interested in controlling the orientation of particles in photo-voltaic cells which may make it possible to reach maximum theoretical efficiency: Ginger stated that in order to create an interface between biology and electronics, new materials must be created to merge the gap.