Fair and meaningful device performance comparison among luminescent solar concentratorphotovoltaic (LSC-PV) reports cannot be realized without a general consensus on reporting standards in LSC-PV research. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt standardized characterization protocols for these emerging types of PV devices that are consistent with other PV devices. This commentary highlights several common limitations in LSC literature and summarizes the best practices moving forward to harmonize with standard PV reporting, considering the

The QDs are synthesized and dispersed in aqueous solution with either 2-mercaptoethylamine ͑positively charged͒ or thioglycolic acid ͑negatively charged͒ as capping stabilizers. By electrostatic attraction, the charged QDs are self-assembled layer by layer on an indium tin oxide substrate modified with ͑3-aminopropyl͒triethoxysilane. This process allows control of active layer thickness by self-assembly, and can in principle be applied to a wide range of substrates. The photodetector exhibits high responsivity ͑0.18 A / W͒ under 0.1 V bias due to extremely short capping ligands of QDs, which have high internal quantum efficiency, and the densely packed multilayer structure.

We demonstrate a novel optomechanical synchronization method to achieve ultrahigh-contrast time-gated fluorescence imaging using live zebrafish as models. Silicon quantum dot nanoparticles (SiQDNPs) with photoluminescence lifetime of about 16 μs were used as the long-lived probes to enable background autofluorescence removal and multiplexing through time-gating. A continuous-wave 405 nm laser as the excitation source was focused on a rotating optical chopper on which the emission light beam obtained from an inverted fluorescence microscope was also focused but with a phase difference such that in a short delay after the excitation laser is blocked, the emission light beam passes through the optical chopper, initiating the image acquisition by a conventional sensor. Both excitation and detection time windows were synchronized by one optical chopper, eliminating the need for pulsed light source and image intensifier which is often used as ultrafast optical shutter. Through use of the cost-effective time-gating method, nearly all background autofluorescence emitted from the yolk sac of a zebrafish embryo microinjected with the SiQDNPs was removed, leading to a 45-fold increase in signal-to-background ratio. Furthermore, two kinds of fluorescence signals emitted from the microinjected SiQDNPs and the intrinsic green fluorescent protein of transgenic zebrafish larvae can be clearly separated through time-gating.

We demonstrate hybrid colloidal silicon quantum dot (SiQD)-organic light-emitting diodes with electroluminescence (EL) in the visible wavelengths. The device using blue photoluminescence (PL) SiQDs as emitters shows multiple EL peaks which are attributed to carrier recombination in the core quantum confinement states, the hole-transport-layer and the surface trap states, respectively. However, the red PL SiQD device shows a single EL peak consistent with the PL peak. These findings are in agreement with the previous report that large Stokes shift were observed for oxidized blue emission SiQDs due to oxide states while red emission SiQDs show negligible PL shift after oxidation.

We demonstrate red-emitting silicon quantum dot (SiQD) phosphors as a low-cost and environment-friendly alternative to rare-earth element phosphors or CdSe quantum dots. After surface passivation, the SiQD-phosphors achieve high photoluminescence quantum yield = 51% with 365-nm excitation. The phosphors also have a peak photoluminescence wavelength at 630 nm and a full-width-at-half-maximum of 145 nm. The relatively broadband red emission is ideal for forming the basis of a warm white spectrum. With 365-nm or 405-nm LED pumping and the addition of green- and/or blue-emitting rare-earth element phosphors, warm white LEDs with color rendering index ~95 have been achieved.