Improving the NIR light-harvesting of perovskite solar cell with upconversion fluorotellurite glass

Upconversion glasses are capable of converting the sub-bandgap NIR light into photons of a particular wavelength which can be efficiently utilized by solar cells. Herein, the Yb3+/Er3+ co-doped fluorotellurite upconversion glasses were prepared. The most intense upconversion luminescence (UCL) under 980-nm LD excitation was obtained in the glass with Yb3+-to-Er3+ molar ratio of 10:1. The dependences of UCL on the pump power and temperature were investigated. The UCL can be mainly attributed to the two-photon involved energy transfer processes and is very stable to the change in temperature even when heated up to 200 degrees C. The subsequent implementation of the glass as upconverter for a MAPbI(3-x)Cl(x)-based perovskite solar cell (PSC) resulted in an open circuit voltage of 0.83V and a short circuit current density of 0.32mA/cm(2). This application of upconversion glass for enhancing the NIR light harvesting offers a promising way to improve the photo-electric conversion efficiencies of PSCs.