THE PHOTOLUMINESCENT LAYERS BASED ON ZnO NANOPARTICLES AS RADIATION CONVERTERS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS Cover Image

THE PHOTOLUMINESCENT LAYERS BASED ON ZnO NANOPARTICLES AS RADIATION CONVERTERS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS
THE PHOTOLUMINESCENT LAYERS BASED ON ZnO NANOPARTICLES AS RADIATION CONVERTERS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

Author(s): Natalia Szczecińska, Katarzyna Znajdek, Aleksandra Sosna-Głębska, Paul Lewicki, Przemysław Czarnecki, Piotr Kraska, Cezary Bazdyga, Gabriela Wiosna-Sałyga, Maciej Sibiński
Subject(s): Energy and Environmental Studies
Published by: Centrum Badań i Innowacji Pro-Akademia
Keywords: down-conversion layers; down-shifting layers; photoluminescence nanoparticles; solar cell efficiency; zinc oxide nanoparticles; photoluminescence layers

Summary/Abstract: The mismatch between solar cell response and solar spectrum is one of the biggest challenges to achieve high efficiency in photovoltaic cells. There are a few different approaches to minimise this concern. One of them is the radiation conversion which may be due to three different processes, namely up-conversion, downconversion and down-shifting. In this paper the down-conversion process of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and layers with ZnO NPs in polymer (poly (methyl methacrylate)) (PMMA) matrix will be analysed. ZnO NPs are prone to act as down-converting or down-shifting agents, which absorb the UV radiation, which is not absorbed by the solar cell, and then re-emit light in the visible range, which is suited to the photovoltaic cell sensitivity. Herein, the photoluminescence and optical transmittance of ZnO NPs and layers based on ZnO NPs will be presented. These parameters have a large influence on the potential application of these layers in photovoltaic structures for increased efficiency. The conversion layers have to fulfil the following conditions: have good optical transmittance in the visible range and high luminescence efficiency in converting UV radiation into visible. The paper focuses on finding the balance between these parameters.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 29
  • Page Range: 16-26
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English