Luminescent solar concentrator employing rare earth complex with zero self-absorption loss

Wang, Tongxin; Zhang, Jun; Ma, Wei; Luo, Yanhua; Wang, Limin; Hu, Zhenjiang; Wu, Wenxuan; Wang, Xin; Zou, Gang; Zhang, Qijin

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2011.07.014

Cited by 105 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…[92] f) Emission linewidth comparison of different emitter species. [3,4,11,46,76,92] Note that small W (<5 nm), and a range of S (5-500 nm) have been reported. on variations of these cyanine salts with system efficiency of 0.4% efficiency combined with an AVT of 86% and little tinting.…”

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 92%

“…[4] d) Eu(TTA) 3 (TTPO) 2 rare-earth ion complex. [76] e) single-walled carbon nanotube. [92] f) Emission linewidth comparison of different emitter species.…”

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

“…[76,77] Historically, these have been used in fluorescent lighting and downconverting phosphors. [44,45,[78][79][80][81] In LSC applications, organic emitters such as europium tris(2-thenoyl trifluoro acetonate)-di(triphenylphosphine oxide (Eu(TTA) 3 (TPPO) 2 ) have been demonstrated, where light is absorbed by the central organic ligand, energy is transferred to Eu 3+ and then emitted as photons by the Eu 3+ ion.…”

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

“…[44,45,[78][79][80][81] In LSC applications, organic emitters such as europium tris(2-thenoyl trifluoro acetonate)-di(triphenylphosphine oxide (Eu(TTA) 3 (TPPO) 2 ) have been demonstrated, where light is absorbed by the central organic ligand, energy is transferred to Eu 3+ and then emitted as photons by the Eu 3+ ion. [76] There have also been a number of demonstrations of rare-earth ions (e.g., Ce 3+ , Eu 2+ , Eu 3+ , Sm 2+ , and Tm 2+ ) [82][83][84][85] directly embedded into a variety inorganic hosts. While the UV absorption combined with large luminescent downshifts (>200 nm) and sharp emission peaks (<20 nm) makes Eu(TTA) 3 (TPPO) 2 and other ions potentially suitable for the UV LSC, the emission spectrum shown to date peak in the visible range that results in luminescence based tinting combined with narrow absorption bands.…”

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

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Limits of Visibly Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Yang

Lunt

2017

Advanced Optical Materials

113

100

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surfaces into energy harvesting resources. This new approach to visibly transparent LSCs was developed by exploiting the nature of excitonic semiconductors to optimize the use of this light-exposed surface area without compromising its existing functionality, thereby avoiding the aesthetic tradeoffs that can hinder adoption. Recent work has demonstrated devices that selectively harvest different parts of the solar spectrum including i) ultraviolet (UV) absorption, with massive downconverted luminescence deeper into the NIR (>400 nm) [4] and ii) near-infrared (NIR) absorption, with even deeper luminescence in the NIR. [3] This work has been subsequently followed by a number of other groups. [8][9][10][11][12] In contrast to transparent photovoltaics, which have also been developed to exploit this untapped area, [13][14][15] this new concentrator approach offers an alternative pathway whereby energy is transported optically, offering a simple route to large-area manufacturing, high defect tolerance, angle independent performance, and low-level energy cost. In this progress report we discuss the theoretical limits of transparent LSCs, idealized configurations, scalability, and properties of enabling materials. Operating Principles of LSCsLuminescent solar concentrators operate based on the following mechanisms (see Figure 1a): a portion of solar spectrum is absorbed in a luminescent dye (or "luminophore") [16] embedded in a transparent waveguide. That absorbed solar energy is then re-emitted at another wavelength isotropically in all directions within the waveguide, provided the oscillators are not preferentially oriented. Due to the index of refraction difference between the waveguide and the ambient environment the re-emitted photons are predominately trapped by total internal reflection, causing them to be directed towards the waveguide edges where they can be converted to electrical power in an edge mounted photovoltaic cell. The overall system power conversion efficiency, η LSC , is then given by:where η Opt is the optical efficiency (number of photons reaching the waveguide edge)/(number of photons incident on the waveguide), R is the front face reflection, η Abs is the solar spectrum Visibly transparent solar harvesting surfaces are an exciting new approach to harvesting solar energy around buildings and mobile electronics to improve their efficiency and autonomy without impacting their appearance. The recent demonstration of ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) selective light harvesters have enabled transparent luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) that boast unparalleled scalability, flexibility, aesthetic quality, and affordability. Consequently, the question of the efficiency limits has emerged in these new systems. In this perspective, the theoretical efficiency limits of these concentrator systems are reviewed and practical considerations are outlined to approach these limits. For UV and UV/NIR selective harvesting single-junction transparent LSCs are constrained thermodynamically to 21%, which i...

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Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 92%

“…[4] d) Eu(TTA) 3 (TTPO) 2 rare-earth ion complex. [76] e) single-walled carbon nanotube. [92] f) Emission linewidth comparison of different emitter species.…”

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Wwwadvopticalmatdementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Limits of Visibly Transparent Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Yang

Lunt

2017

Advanced Optical Materials

113

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An different approach was presented recently that employs resonance-shifting to circumvent reabsorption losses (Giebink et al 2011). Also, Eu 3+ has been employed succesfully to address self-absorption loss (Wang et al 2011). Alternatively, the originally proposed three-plate stack (Goetzberger and Greubel 1977) could be further developed using perhaps a combination of organic dyes and nanocrystals, or even rare earth ions (Rowan et al 2008), with optimized dedicated solar cells for each spectral region.…”

Section: Discussion and Outlookmentioning

confidence: 99%