The luminescent concentrator illuminated

Abstract

Luminescent concentrator (LC) plates with different dyes were combined with standard multicrystalline silicon solar cells. External quantum efficiency measurements were performed, showing an increase in electrical current of the silicon cell (under AM1.5, 1 sun conditions, at normal incidence) compared to a bare cell. The influence of dye concentration and plate dimensions are addressed. The best results show a 1.7 times increase in the current from the LC/silicon cell compared to the silicon cell alone. To broaden the absorption spectrum of the LC, a second dye was incorporated in the LC plates. This results in a relative increase in current of 5-8% with respect to the one dye LC, giving. Using a ray-tracing model, transmission, reflection and external quantum efficiency spectra were simulated and compared with the measured spectra. The simulations deliver the luminescent quantum efficiencies of the two dyes as well as the background absorption by the polymer host. It is found that the luminescent quantum efficiency of the red emitting dye is 87%, which is one of the major loss factors in the measured LC. Using ray-tracing simulations it is predicted that increasing the luminescent quantum efficiency to 98% would substantially reduce this loss, resulting in an increase in overall power conversion efficiency of the LC from 1.8 to 2.6%.