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Application of Quantum Dots to Solar Cells to Increase Efficiency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2013

Chris Botros  and
Richard Savage
Chris Botros
Affiliation:
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Materials Engineering, 1 Grand Ave, Bldg. 41-230, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, U.S.A.
Richard Savage
Affiliation:
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Materials Engineering, 1 Grand Ave, Bldg. 41-230, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, U.S.A.
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Abstract

The goal of this work is to increase the efficiency of conventional solar cells by incorporating quantum dot (QD) nanoparticles in the absorption mechanism. The strategy is to have the QDs absorb UV and fluoresce photons in the visible region that are more readily absorbed by the cells. The outcome is that the cells have more visible photons to absorb and have increased power output. The QDs, having a CdSe core and a ZnS shell, were applied to the solar cells as follows: (1) The QDs were first synthesized in a solution. (2) They were then removed from the solution and dried. (3) The dried QDs are then deposited into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and the PDMS/QD composite is allowed to cure. (4) The cured sample is applied to a silicon solar panel. The panel with the PDMS/QD application outputs 2.5% more power than the one without, under identical AM1.5 illumination using QDs that fluoresce in the orange region. This work demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating QDs to increase the efficiency of conventional solar cells. Because the cells absorb better in the red region, future effort will be to use QDs that fluoresce in that region to further boost cell output.

Keywords

nanostructurephotovoltaicsemiconducting
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1493: Symposium E/H – Photovoltaic Technologies, Devices and Systems Based on Inorganic Materials, Small Organic Molecules and Hybrids , 2013 , pp. 71 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012 

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References

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