The tunable optical and electronic properties of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, combined with their amenability toward low-cost solution-based processing techniques, make them a uniquely versatile class of materials for use in electronic devices. Among a host of other potential applications currently under development, progress in quantum dot solar cells has dramatically accelerated, particularly over the past five years.While these solar cells make use of quantum dots’ strong light absorption and tunable band positions, more recently, increased attention has turned to alternative roles in solar energy capture that take advantage of other quantum dot properties. Quantum-dot luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), for example, make use of their bright photoluminescence to boost the amount of sunlight that is effectively harvested by a solar cell.Maximum performance for a LSC hinges on its ability to collect light over a very large area, convert it to luminescence with very high efficiency, and to guide that re-emitted light over a considerable distance to a solar cell with minimal losses. Achieving this in quantum-dot LSCs requires co-optimization of both the quantum dot and the light-guiding host matrix. In this presentation, we will examine the fabrication of high-optical-quality composites comprising heterostructured quantum dots based on II-VI and other semiconductor materials that are specifically designed to maximize sunlight capture and conversion, and minimize escape-cone, scattering and reabsorption losses. This will include a discussion of how quantum dot structure and matrix chemistry influence performance of real, macroscale LSCs, and what these measurements suggest about the design of future devices.

Efficient harvesting of solar energy using quantum-dot luminescent solar concentrators

249th National Meeting (2015)

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