Quantum-dot intermediate-band solar cells with inverted band alignment

The intermediate-band concept was proposed over a decade ago as a possible route to increase the efficiency of single-junction solar cells. Despite a number of experimental attempts to realize this concept, no efficiency improvement over conventional single-junction solar cells has so far been demon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physica. E, Low-dimensional systems & nanostructures Low-dimensional systems & nanostructures, 2008-10, Vol.41 (1), p.15-17
Main Authors: Franceschetti, A., Lany, S., Bester, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Intermediate-band solar cells
Natural energy
Photovoltaic conversion
Quantum dots
Solar cells. Photoelectrochemical cells
Solar energy
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Summary:The intermediate-band concept was proposed over a decade ago as a possible route to increase the efficiency of single-junction solar cells. Despite a number of experimental attempts to realize this concept, no efficiency improvement over conventional single-junction solar cells has so far been demonstrated. This is likely due to the fact that the intermediate band itself acts to enhance electron–hole recombination. In this work we propose a novel intermediate-band solar-cell architecture based on doped semiconductor nanostructures having an inverted type-I band alignment with the surrounding host. The recombination of carriers in the nanostructures is prevented by ultra-fast charge transfer to the host, thereby removing the main obstacle to achieve high conversion efficiency.
ISSN:1386-9477
1873-1759
DOI:10.1016/j.physe.2008.05.023