Project description
Improving the conversion efficiency of intermediate band solar cells
In the context of energy transition, it has become paramount to conduct research on new ways to improve the conversion efficiency of solar cells. To tackle this challenge, quantum dots in a perovskite host (CQDs@Perovskite) have emerged as a new type of solution-processed semiconductor material. Its intrinsic opto-electronic properties (high absorbance and strong quantum confinement) make it ideal to be used as absorber material in intermediate band solar cells, which can achieve increased conversion efficiency by exploiting a larger part of the solar spectrum. The EU-funded ENLIGHTEN project will exploit CQDs@Perovskite materials, combined with microstructure-based light trapping techniques. Eventually, the project will pave the way for low-cost high-efficiency photovoltaic technology.
Objective
Europe has set the energy transition to renewable sources as one of its priority policies to minimise the effects of climate change. Photovoltaic energy is called to play a major role in the world’s electricity production in the mid-term. The present market-dominant technology, crystalline silicon, has reached its practical efficiency record of 26% and the energy cost of this technology seems to be stagnating now. For these reasons, research on new ways of increasing the conversion efficiency of solar cells is still extensive. Among the proposed novel concepts for high-efficiency solar cells, the intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) has received great attention by the scientific community. In conventional single-gap solar cells, photons with energy lower than the bandgap of the absorber material are wasted. The IBSC concept allows harvesting below-bandgap photons without voltage loss, which increases the limiting efficiency from 33% to 50%. So far, IBSCs have been realized with epitaxially-grown quantum dot (QD) superlattices of III-V semiconductors. However, no pronounced efficiency enhancement has been yet reported, since this technological approach is unable to produce nanostructured materials with the properties required theoretically. In particular, epitaxial QDs exhibit low absorbance, leading to low photocurrent, and weak quantum confinement, which degrades the voltage of the cell. Recently, a new type of solution-processed semiconductor materials, quantum dots in a perovskite host (CQDs@Perovskite), has been demonstrated. The intrinsic opto-electronic properties of CQDs@Perovskite (high absorbance & strong quantum confinement) make them perfect candidates as absorber material in IBSCs. ENLIGHTEN will exploit CQDs@Perovskite materials combined with microstructure-based light trapping techniques to pave the way for low-cost high-efficiency solar cells. In addition, the cells have an innovative device structure compatible with flexible-substrate technology.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorologysolar radiation
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsphotons
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Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
2829 516 Caparica
Portugal