Evidence of significant down-conversion in a Si-based solar cell using CuInS2/ZnS core shell quantum dots

We report on the increase of up to 37.5% in conversion efficiency of a Si-based solar cell after deposition of light-emitting Cd-free, CuInS2/ZnS core shell quantum dots on the active area of the cell due to the combined effect of down-conversion and the anti-reflecting property of the dots. We clearly distinguished the effect of down-conversion from anti-reflection and estimated an enhancement of up to 10.5% in the conversion efficiency due to down-conversion. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.