R. Montes, F. Villa, A. Ayon
University of Texas at San Antonio,
United States
Keywords: LDS, quantum dots, LBL deposition, photovoltaics
Summary:
We report the fabrication and spectroscopic ellipsometry characterization of layer-by-layer assembled polyelectrolyte-quantum dot multilayered films and their influence in the power conversion efficiency of single-crystal silicon solar cells. The experimental performance of the resulting structure that possess downshifting and antireflection capabilities is compared to the theoretical predictions obtained from transfer matrix and FDTD simulations. The incorporation of the downshifting films on the front surface of the solar cell triggered an increase of 29.5% in the short circuit current density which is responsible for an increase in efficiency from 11.31% to 14.26%. The external quantum efficiency of the solar cell reproduced by the proposed theoretical formalism shows an excellent agreement with the experimental data, supporting the validity of the model and allowing the opto-electronic model assisted design of optimized downshifting structures for photovoltaic applications.