Near-infrared emission from Eu–Yb doped silicate glasses subjected to thermal reduction

Abstract

Quantum cutting (QC) is a promising approach for enhancing the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells since it allows for conversion of one ultraviolet photon from the sun into two near-infrared photons with energy comparable to the band gap of silicon solar cells. We find that QC can occur by cooperative energy transfer from Eu2+ to Yb3+ in soda-lime-silicate glasses subjected to thermal reduction around the glass transition temperature. Besides the QC effect, the thermal reduction results in improvement of surface performances, e.g., hardness. This synergy effect potentially makes the thermally reduced glass an ideal solar cell substrate material.