A Deep-Red Emission Phosphor Y<sub>2</sub>SrAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>12</sub>:Ce<sup>3+</sup>, Cr<sup>3+</sup> and Its Utilization in Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells
Xiongbo Ma, Takatoshi Seto, Yuhua Wang
Abstract
The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of crystalline silicon solar cells has reached a bottleneck. Further improving the PCE is an important current research topic. This Letter reports a new phosphor Y 2 SrAl 4 SiO 12:Ce 3+, Cr 3+ . Under the excitation in the wavelength range of 320–650 nm, the phosphor Y 2 SrAl 4 SiO 12:Ce 3+, Cr 3+ exhibits a deep-red emission in the 500–800 nm range. Due to the energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Cr 3+, the luminescence intensity of Cr 3+ is further enhanced. This matches well with the spectrum of silicon solar cells. Because of the powerful absorption and high internal quantum efficiency, Y 2 SrAl 4 SiO 12:Ce 3+, Cr 3+ was used to prepare energy down-conversion (EDC) films. By applying the EDC film on the surface of silicon solar cells, the relative PCE increases by 2.018%. These results indicate that Y 2 SrAl 4 SiO 12:Ce 3+, Cr 3+ is an excellent deep-red garnet structured phosphor and furthermore has a positive effect on the enhancement of the PCE of solar cells.