Review on up/down conversion materials for solar cell application

Verma, Deepak; Sætre, Tor Oskar; Midtgård, Ole-Morten

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2012.6318129

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Hence, DC is more beneficial for solar cells with smaller band gaps as it converts a photon of higher energy to two photons of lower energy, implying an external quantum efficiency of 200%. Although a DC layer is typically applied to the front surface of a solar cell, it is possible to add a rear layer in the case of bifacial solar cells [427,428]. It was theoretically predicted that a conversion efficiency of 38.6% can be achieved in c-Si solar cells attached to an ideal DC convertor under un-concentrated light, by increasing the available spectral irradiance by 32% [475].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanostructured photovoltaics

2019

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In this review, we begin by discussing the need for harnessing renewable energy resources in the context of global energy demands. A summary of firstand second-generation solar cells, their efficiency and grid parity is provided, followed by the need to reduce material and installation costs, and achieve higher efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit imposed on single junction cells. We also discuss the specific advantages offered by nanomaterials in enhanced energy harvesting, what design platforms comprise nanostructured photovoltaics, and list the prominent categories of nanomaterials used in the design of third generation solar cells. We review the significant nanostructured photovoltaic platforms that have encouraging power conversion efficiencies, have the potential for long term stability (both structural and functional) and have received attention in the field. In addition to their operational principle, we highlight both their advantages and shortcomings, along with insights into possible improvements. We include alternate routes to improving power conversion efficiency, not by tuning material properties to match the solar spectrum but using additives and/or structural modifications to allow more efficient harvesting of sunlight, either by reducing losses or by altering the spectral properties. The properties of nanomaterials that make them well-suited as active materials in photovoltaic devices (broadband absorption, high quantum yield, etc.) also make them ideal candidates for luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). These devices also harvest solar energy, but instead of directly allowing charge generation, they act as downconverters for other photovoltaic cells. We review dye, thin film, and quantum dot based LSCs that have garnered a lot of attention in recent years as these devices face a resurgence given the advances in materials science and engineering which have led to novel quantum dots and hybrid semiconductors. The review ends with where the future of nanostructured photovoltaics is headed, what device designs and materials development are needed to achieve efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limits and fulfil the goal of the 3rd and 4th generation photovoltaics.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common materials used for up conversion processes are lanthanide nanoparticle based luminescence [427][428][429][430] and triplet triple annihilation based on organic molecules [427,439]. In this article, we will focus on the lanthanide nanomaterials for up conversion.…”

Section: Up Conversion Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanostructured photovoltaics

2019

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“…So, designing a device that utilize all the possible energy is challenging. The idea of up-and down-conversion cells is to manipulate the spectrum by various optical nonlinear systems to reduce the width of the resulted spectrum and then use the proper cell for energy harvesting [117,118]. Such spectrum manipulation can extremely reduce the losses due to thermalization.…”

Section: Up-and Down-conversion Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical limits of photovoltaics efficiency and possible improvements by intuitive approaches learned from photosynthesis and quantum coherence

Alharbi

Kais

2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

186

109

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In this review, we present and discussed the main trends in photovoltaics with emphasize on the conversion efficiency limits. The theoretical limits of various photovoltaics device concepts are presented and analyzed using a flexible detailed balance model where more discussion emphasize is toward the losses. Also, few lessons from nature and other fields to improve the conversion efficiency in photovoltaics are presented and discussed as well. From photosynthesis, the perfect exciton transport in photosynthetic complexes can be utilized for PVs. Also, we present some lessons learned from other fields like recombination suppression by quantum coherence. For example, the coupling in photosynthetic reaction centers is used to suppress recombination in photocells.

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“…Low-energy photons that have passed through the solar cell are absorbed by this material, and the upconverted photon is sent back into the cell for absorption. To date, no improvement in the efficiency above the SQ limit has been reported [75].…”

Section: Up-conversion Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Solar Cells a Reality in Every Home: Opportunities and Challenges for Photovoltaic Device Design

Singh

Alapatt

Lakhtakia

2013

IEEE J. Electron Devices Soc.

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Globally, the cumulative installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity has topped the 100-gigawatt (GW) milestone and is expected to reach 200 GW by the year 2015. More than 90% of the installed PV capacity employs bulk-silicon solar cells. Engineering problems that include thermal and optical challenges have not permitted the large-scale commercialization of concentration PV systems, lack of functional reliabilityand the concomitant lack of economic bankability-being a major barrier. For increasing the efficiency of single-junction cells beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit, several approaches based on concepts such as multiple exciton generation, carrier multiplication, hot-carrier extraction, etc., have been proposed; however, these do not seem to be commercially viable. Since both bulk-silicon and thin-film (amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide) solar cells remain as the only two commercially viable options for terrestrial PV applications, a multi-terminal multi-junction architecture appears promising for inexpensive PV electricity generation with efficiency exceeding the currently feasible 25%. The architecture exploits the present commercial silicon solar cells along with abundant and ultralow-cost materials such as Cu 2 O. With the availability of wellcontrolled manufacturing processes at the sub 2-nm length scale, it will become possible to manufacture ultra-high efficiency and ultra-low cost PV electricity generation modules based on silicon.

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Review on up/down conversion materials for solar cell application

Cited by 15 publications

References 41 publications

Nanostructured photovoltaics

Nanostructured photovoltaics

Theoretical limits of photovoltaics efficiency and possible improvements by intuitive approaches learned from photosynthesis and quantum coherence

Making Solar Cells a Reality in Every Home: Opportunities and Challenges for Photovoltaic Device Design

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