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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Development of materials for a luminescent solar collector. Final report, September 1, 1979-December 31, 1982

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5892230

The optical absorption and fluorescence have been characterized for a broad range of vitreous and ceramic transparent inorganic materials doped with trivalent chromium ion. The aim was to identify a Cr/sup 3 +/ host which is susceptible to economical mass production and which could simultaneously satisfy the stringent long-term stability and spectroscopic requirements of the luminescent solar collector. Completely vitreous materials were found to be deficient because of unacceptably low Cr/sup 3 +/ fluorescence quantum yields which could not be circumvented by radiationless energy transfer to a lanthanide ion. In order to overcome this problem of low quantum yield, a new class of luminescent solid based on transparent glass ceramic technology had to be developed. In particular, transparent glass ceramics which precipitate the crystalline aluminosilicate mullite were found to be excellent hosts for Cr/sup 3 +/ which have quantum yields of at least 50 +- 10%. Currently, these mullite ceramics are by far the most advanced wholly inorganic material developed for the collector application and represent the first example of a new type of luminescent solid which can be extended to include many other crystalline ceramics and transition metal ions.

Research Organization:
GTE Labs., Inc., Waltham, MA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-78ER04996
OSTI ID:
5892230
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/04996-4; ON: DE83015026
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English