Advances in spectral conversion for photovoltaics: up-converting Er3+ doped YF3 nano-crystals in transparent glass ceramic

Jose Marques-Hueso; Daqin Chen; Sean K. W. MacDougall; Yuansheng Wang; Bryce S. Richards

doi:10.1117/12.897526

20 September 2011 Advances in spectral conversion for photovoltaics: up-converting Er³⁺ doped YF₃ nano-crystals in transparent glass ceramic

Jose Marques-Hueso, Daqin Chen, Sean K. W. MacDougall, Yuansheng Wang, Bryce S. Richards

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8111, Next Generation (Nano) Photonic and Cell Technologies for Solar Energy Conversion II; 811102 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.897526
Event: SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Up- and down-conversion (UC, DC) constitute two singular routes to achieve improved energy harvesting of sunlight by changing its shape of the solar spectrum. To obtain a significant conversion rate two main challenges have to be overcome: i) the excited lanthanide ions have to emit efficiently, a target which has been better accomplished for DC materials; ii) the absorption in the lanthanide-based UC and DC layers has to be high to ensure a sizeable fraction of photons can be harvested. In this paper, we review such materials and their use as spectral converters for photovoltaics (PV), paying special attention to the UC and DC processes in lanthanide glasses in fluoride matrices. We discuss the challenges that need to be overcome in order to implement these materials in real PV devices. Finally, we will present the synthesis of erbium (Er³⁺) doped YF₃ nano-crystals embedded in transparent glass ceramic (TGC) by melt quenching. This material presents a low phonon energy environment for the Er³⁺ ions due to the fluoride crystals, while the silica glass provides chemical and mechanical stability to the compound.

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Jose Marques-Hueso, Daqin Chen, Sean K. W. MacDougall, Yuansheng Wang, and Bryce S. Richards "Advances in spectral conversion for photovoltaics: up-converting Er³⁺ doped YF₃ nano-crystals in transparent glass ceramic", Proc. SPIE 8111, Next Generation (Nano) Photonic and Cell Technologies for Solar Energy Conversion II, 811102 (20 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.897526

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