We compare the performance of luminescent solar concentrators ͑LSCs͒ fabricated with polymers and quantum dots to the behavior of laser dye LSCs. Previous research, centered around the use of small molecule laser dyes, was hindered by the lack of materials with small absorption/emission band overlap and longer lifetime. Materials such as semiconducting polymers and quantum dots present qualities that are desirable in LSCs, for example, smaller absorption/emission band overlap, tunable absorption, and longer lifetimes. In this study, the efficiency of LSCs consisting of liquid solutions of semiconducting polymers encased in glass was measured and compared to the efficiency of LSCs based on small molecule dyes and on quantum dots. Factors affecting the optical efficiency of the system such as the luminescing properties of the organic materials were examined. The experimental results were compared to Monte Carlo simulations. Our results suggest that commercially available quantum dots cannot serve as viable LSC dyes because of their large absorption/emission band overlaps and relatively low quantum yields. Materials such as Red F demonstrate that semiconducting polymers with high quantum yield and small absorption/emission band overlap are good candidates for LSCs.

No abstract

We have fabricated ultrathin photovoltaic cadmium telluride (CdTe) film solar cells from colloidal nanorod solutions with a power conversion efficiency of 5.0% and internal quantum efficiency approaching unity near the band edge. Sintering of the CdTe nanorod films was necessary to facilitate grain growth and enhanced optical absorption. By analyzing electrode dependence, capacitance-voltage, temperature dependence, and current-voltage characteristics, the device performance is shown to be dominated by the formation of a p-CdTe/Al Schottky junction. The reduced need for material and cheaper processing make this an attractive technology for solar power generation.

Spin-cast all-inorganic nanoparticle solutions have been used to make a CdTe/CdSe solar cell with an efficiency of up to 2.6% using air stable electrodes and without an additional alumina layer. The type of junction as well as the nonselective nature of the electrodes of these devices are explored.

No abstract