Near‐Infrared Quantum Cutting for Photovoltaics

Ende, B.M. van der; Aarts, Linda; Meijerink, Andries

doi:10.1002/adma.200802220

Cited by 441 publications

(271 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…To increase the effective absorption strength of Tm 31 and make it broadband, sensitizers are needed 20,[47][48][49][50] . For example, the material could be co-doped with strongly absorbing centers, such as Ce 31 , for sensitization 20,39,49,50 . Such schemes allow for the absorption spectrum of the material to be tuned independently of the downconversion process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A large number of downconversion materials able to convert high-energy photons into multiple lower-energy photons have recently been developed [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] . The downconversion process occurs by energy transfer between luminescent centers, either lanthanide ions with a wide range of energy levels or organic molecules with low-energy triplet states 31,32 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-photon quantum cutting in Gd2O2S:Tm3+ to enhance the photo-response of solar cells

Martín-Rodríguez

Zhang

et al. 2015

Light Sci Appl

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Conventional photoluminescence (PL) yields at most one emitted photon for each absorption event. Downconversion (or quantum cutting) materials can yield more than one photon by virtue of energy transfer processes between luminescent centers. In this work, we introduce Gd 2 O 2 S:Tm 31 as a multi-photon quantum cutter. It can convert near-infrared, visible, or ultraviolet photons into two, three, or four infrared photons of ,1800 nm, respectively. The cross-relaxation steps between Tm 31 ions that lead to quantum cutting are identified from (time-resolved) PL as a function of the Tm 31 concentration in the crystal. A model is presented that reproduces the way in which the Tm 31 concentration affects both the relative intensities of the various emission lines and the excited state dynamics and providing insight in the quantum cutting efficiency. Finally, we discuss the potential application of Gd 2 O 2 S:Tm 31 for spectral conversion to improve the efficiency of next-generation photovoltaics. Keywords: downconversion; infrared emission; quantum cutting; solar cells; spectral conversions INTRODUCTION Over the last decade, advanced luminescent materials exhibiting downconversion, also known as quantum cutting or quantum splitting, have been developed 1,2 . In this process, a high-energy photon is converted into two or more lower-energy photons, with a quantum efficiency of potentially well over 100% 3 . If the downconverted photons are in the visible range, this concept is of interest for color conversion layers in conventional lighting applications 1,2,4-6 . New exciting possibilities of downconversion to infrared (IR) photons lie in next-generation photovoltaics, aiming at minimizing the spectral mismatch losses in solar cells [7][8][9][10][11] .Spectral mismatch is the result of the broad width of the spectrum emitted by the sun. Semiconductor absorber materials absorb only photons with an energy hn higher than the band gap E g 7 . To absorb many photons and produce a large electrical current, absorber materials must therefore have a small bandgap. However, because excited charge carriers rapidly thermalize to the edges of a semiconductor's conduction and valence bands, a high voltage output requires an absorber with a large band gap. Hence, materials with low transmission losses (leading to a large current) have high thermalization losses (leading to a low voltage) and vice versa 12,13 . These spectral mismatch losses constitute the major factor defining the relatively low ShockleyQueisser limit 14 , the maximum light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 33% in a single-junction solar cell, obtained for a band gap of approximately 1.1 eV (1100 nm) 13 .Efficiencies higher than 33% can be reached with multi-junction solar cells, where a stack of multiple absorber materials are each optimized to efficiently convert different parts of the solar spectrum to

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-photon quantum cutting in Gd2O2S:Tm3+ to enhance the photo-response of solar cells

Martín-Rodríguez

Zhang

et al. 2015

Light Sci Appl

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“…10 Most recently, NIR downconversion phenomena have been widely witnessed in the RE 3+ -Yb 3+ (RE= Tb, Pr, Tm, Nd, Er, and Ho) co-doped luminescent materials. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] However, in the most of the case, the NIR emission might originate from Yb 3+ through first-order energy transfer from RE 3+ donor ions rather than QS. There is still a general lack of understanding of NIR-QS luminescence mechanisms, and very few related studies are available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sequential two-step near-infrared quantum splitting in Ho3+ singly doped NaYF4

Huang

et al. 2011

AIP Advances

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We demonstrated an efficient sequential two-step near-infrared (NIR) quantum splitting (QS) in a Ho3+ singly doped β-NaYF4. An incident high-energy ultraviolet (UV)-to-visible photon in the wavelength range of 300−560 nm, which enables the Ho3+:5F4,5S2 states excited, could be efficiently split into two NIR photons at 1015 and 1180 nm. Underlying mechanisms for the sequential two-step NIR-QS process are analyzed in terms of the diffuse reflection spectrum, static and dynamic photoemission spectra and monitored excitation spectra. Internal quantum yield is obtained up to 110% on the basis of experimental and theoretical calculation results

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“…4,10,11 16 However, it is not clear that the second-order cooperative energy transfer process is the operative mechanism in the latter two systems, as firstorder energy transfer processes are also possible, and are expected to dominate. 17 The lower efficiency of second-order cooperative energy transfer process makes it only efficient at very high Yb 3+ concentrations where the Yb 3+ emission is largely quenched through concentration quenching. To achieve more efficient energy transfer, an intermediate level on the donor ion should be used in order to obtain DC through two resonant energy transfer steps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Downconversion for solar cells in NaYF4:Er,Yb

Aarts

Ende

Meijerink

2009

Journal of Applied Physics

192

117

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Downconversion is a promising avenue to boost the efficiency of solar cells by absorbing one higher energy visible photon and emitting two lower energy near-infrared ͑NIR͒ photons. Here the efficiency of downconversion for the ͑Er 3+ ,Yb 3+ ͒ couple is investigated in NaYF 4 , a well-known host lattice for efficient upconversion with ͑Er 3+ ,Yb 3+ ͒. Analysis of the excitation and emission spectra for NaYF 4 doped with 1% Er 3+ and codoped with 0%, 5%, 10%, or 30% Yb 3+ show that visible to NIR downconversion is inefficient. Downconversion by the scheme based on the reverse of the upconversion process is hampered by fast multiphonon relaxation from the 4 F 7/2 level ͑the starting level for downconversion͒ to the 4 S 3/2 level. Energy transfer from the 4 S 3/2 level of Er 3+ to Yb 3+ is shown to be inefficient. Efficient downconversion from the 4 G 11/2 of Er 3+ level is observed, resulting in emission of two photons ͑one around 980 nm and one around 650 nm͒ after absorption of a single 380 nm photon.

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Near‐Infrared Quantum Cutting for Photovoltaics

Cited by 441 publications

References 29 publications

Multi-photon quantum cutting in Gd2O2S:Tm3+ to enhance the photo-response of solar cells

Multi-photon quantum cutting in Gd2O2S:Tm3+ to enhance the photo-response of solar cells

A sequential two-step near-infrared quantum splitting in Ho3+ singly doped NaYF4

Downconversion for solar cells in NaYF4:Er,Yb

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