Enhancement of solar cell performance by employing planar spectral converters

The effect on solar cell performance of planar converters containing quantum dots (QDs) as wavelength-shifting entities on top of multicrystalline silicon cells was investigated by means of model studies with varying incident spectra. These included global, direct, and diffuse spectra with Air Mass (AM) values ranging from 1 to 10. In case of AM1.5, a planar converter with QDs emitting at 603 nm yields a short-circuit current increase of 6.3%, 9.6%, and 28.6% for direct, global, and diffuse irradiation, respectively, as a result of the larger blue/green content of diffuse spectra with respect to direct and global ones. For other AM values, similar results are calculated, with a lower increase toward high AM values. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.