Resonance energy transfer from PbS colloidal quantum dots to bulk silicon: the road to hybrid photovoltaics

Andreakou, P., Brossard, M., Bernechea, M., Konstantatos, G. and Lagoudakis, P. (2012) Resonance energy transfer from PbS colloidal quantum dots to bulk silicon: the road to hybrid photovoltaics. Proceedings of SPIE, 8256. (doi:10.1117/12.908357).

Abstract

Semiconductor Quantum Dots (QDs) are promising materials for photovoltaic applications because they can be engineered to absorb light from visible to near infrared and single absorbed photons can generate multiple excitons. However, these materials suffer from low carrier mobility, which severely limits the prospects of efficient charge extraction and carrier transport. We take advantage of the optical properties of QDs and overcome their drawback by using a hybrid photovoltaic device. This photovoltaic configuration exploits the absorption of solar photons in the QDs and the transfer of excitons from the QDs to a silicon p-n junction. We study the Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) mechanism to inject excitons from the QDs into the depletion layer of a silicon p-n junction. Lead sulphide (PbS) nanocrystals are deposited onto the silicon substrate and the efficiency of Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) from the PbS nanoparticles to bulk silicon is investigated. We study the efficiency of this transfer channel between the PbS nanocrystals and silicon by varying their separation distance. These results demonstrate RET from colloidal quantum dots to bulk silicon. Temperature measurements are also presented and show that the RET efficiency is as high as 44% at room temperature. Such a hybrid photovoltaic device makes a potentially inexpensive scheme for achieving high-efficiency and low-cost solar-cell platforms.

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Contributors

Author: P. Lagoudakis

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