Fluoroborophosphate glasses doped with Cr3+, Nd3+ and Yb3+as efficient light converters for silicon based solar cells

Abstract

In this work, we present the results of our study on a fluoroborophosphate glass system doped with different amounts of Cr3+, Yb3+ and Nd3+ ions to evaluate its performance for the conception of luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) to enhance the efficiency of silicon-based solar cells. The obtained results evidenced the presence of an energy transfer from Cr3+ to Yb3+, which becomes more efficient by introducing Nd3+ and results in the enhancement of the emission of Yb3+ at a wavelength ∼980 nm well matched to the silicon band gap. The energy transfer from Cr3+ to Yb3+ was observed under different excitation wavelengths although it was more efficient for wavelengths shorter than 514 nm. From this study, we may suggest that this fluoroborophosphate glass tri-doped with Cr3+, Nd3+,Yb3+ may be considered as a convenient material for the conception of LSCs able to harvest visible light and give efficient NIR emission at nearly 1000 nm required to enhance the efficiency of silicon based solar cells.