Efficiency enhancement in solar cells using photon down-conversion in Tb/Yb-doped tellurite glass

Abstract

Management of the solar spectrum incident on a solar cell was studied using tellurite glasses doped with Tb 3 þ and Yb 3 þ ions as a cover slip. From the transmittance measurements through the doped glass, a red-shift of the solar spectrum was observed and the mechanisms involved in this phenomena were investigated through the absorption spectra and luminescent measurements. Energy transfer of the UV radiation into VIS and IR radiation was elucidated by analyzing the emission spectra. From the results, the power dependence of the Yb 3 þ IR luminescence on the pumping laser intensity at 482 nm revealed that the energy transfer mechanism involving a virtual state was predominant in these samples. Total quantum efficiency higher than 100% was obtained for the sample co-doped with 1% of Tb 3 þ ions and 5% of Yb 3 þ ions. The efficiency of commercial Silicon and Gallium Phosphide (GaP) solar cells, covered with tellurite glasses doped with Tb 3 þ and Yb 3 þ ions, was measured and compared to the efficiency with an un-doped the cover glass. Efficiency enhancement was observed with a dependence on the rare earth ions concentrations, and the results were attributed to the modification of the spectral profile of the incident radiation in the IR region.

Towards Efficient Spectral Converters through Materials Design for Luminescent Solar Devices

“…[3] Such materials have shown a high Φ PL of up to 195% and tuning of the Ln 3+ donor to Ce 3+ or Eu 2+ and doping into inorganic hosts such as borate or silicate glasses can achieve the broad absorption cross-sections required [3,180] Recent practical examples of Tb 3+ /Yb 3+ QC layers applied to c-Si and GaP cells have demonstrated a PCE enhancement from 6.98% to 7.47% and from 0.691% to 0.699%, respectively. [181] As such, there is clearly some way to go before the significant enhancement in PCE predicted for QC materials is achieved. Materials innovation in this area will likely stem from the diversification of the current limited library of suitable QC luminophores, which is clearly the bottleneck at present.…”

Impact of ZnO Addition on Er3+ Near-Infrared Emission, the Formation of Ag Nanoparticles, and the Crystallization of Sodium Fluorophosphate Glass

“…The Archimedes' method was used to measure the densities of the glasses with an accuracy at ±0.02 g/cm 3 . Ethanol was used as the immersion liquid.…”

“…The addition of rare-earth elements (REE) into glasses with various compositions has been intensively studied, as these active glasses can find applications in telecommunications, light detection and ranging, solar panels, and bio-imaging, just to cite a few [1][2][3][4]. Of particular attention are the Er 3+ due to the 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition, which corresponds to an emission band at around 1530 nm.…”

Growth and Characterization of (Tb,Yb) Co-Doping Sprayed ZnO Thin Films

“…The present investigation is focused on the study of the terbium rare earth effect on Yb-doped ZnO thin films prepared using the spray pyrolysis technique because of its simplicity, low cost, easy to add doping materials, and the possibility of varying the film luminescent properties by changing the composition of starting solution. It is also promising for high rate and mass production capability of uniform large area coatings in solar cell applications and optoelectronic devices [23,24]. The samples were characterized by various techniques to assess the effect of co-doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties.…”