Luminescence and chemical potential of solar cells

Greg P. Smestad; Harald Ries

doi:10.1117/12.49227

1 December 1991 Luminescence and chemical potential of solar cells

Greg P. Smestad, Harald Ries

Proceedings Volume 1536, Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion X; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.49227
Event: San Diego, '91, 1991, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The transduction and conversion of radiant energy into work in a quantum process are dependant on the luminescent properties of the materials involved. Materials with photoluminescent efficiencies greater than 0.1% are likely candidates for solar cells and solar converters. The luminescent optical properties of a material are directly related to the output device parameters. The chemical potential of the incoming light is a function of the photon energy and incident radiance. The amount of work per particle, or voltage, that can be extracted by a solar converter is related to chemical potential of the excitation, which can be inferred from the photoluminescence efficiency at ambient temperature. A discussion is made as to the use and optical properties of materials such as Si and GaAs, FeS₂, and biological and organic dyes as efficient solar quantum converter materials. Proper choice of absorber thickness as to maximize the luminescent output observed is shown to optimize solar converter performance.

Citation Download Citation

Greg P. Smestad and Harald Ries "Luminescence and chemical potential of solar cells", Proc. SPIE 1536, Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion X, (1 December 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.49227

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