Chapter 15: Quantum Structured Solar Cells
Conference
·
OSTI ID:944459
The cost of delivered photovoltaic (PV) power is determined by the PV module conversion efficiency and the capital cost of the PV system per unit area. To achieve very low cost PV power, it is necessary to develop cells that have very high conversion efficiency and moderate cost. Toward this end, we have been investigating the possibility of achieving high conversion efficiency in single-bandgap solar cells by capturing the excess energy of electron-hole pairs created by the absorption of solar photons larger than the bandgap to do useful work before these high-energy electron-hole pairs convert their excess kinetic energy (equal to the difference between the photogenerated electron energy and the conduction band energy) to heat through phonon emission [1], [2], [3] and [4]. These highly excited electrons and holes are termed hot electrons and hot holes (or hot carriers); in semiconductor nanocrystals, the photogenerated electron-hole pairs are correlated and are termed excitons. Semiconductor nanocrystals (also called quantum dots, QDs) have discrete electronic states, and the absorption of photons with energies greater than the energy difference between the highest hole state (1 S{sub h}) and the lowest electron state (1 S{sub e}) (also termed the HOMO-LUMO transition) produces excited excitons.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-99GO10337
- OSTI ID:
- 944459
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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