Novel up-conversion concentrating photovoltaic concepts

Abstract

This thesis summarises a set of experiments towards the integration of concentrating optics into up-conversion photovoltaics. Up-conversion in rare earths has been investigated here. This optical process is non-linear therefore a high solar irradiance is required. High solar irradiance is achievable by solar concentration. Two concentrating approaches were investigated in this thesis: The first approach involved the concentration of the incident solar irradiance into optical fibres. An optical system with spherical lenses and dielectric tapers was designed accordingly. A solar concentration of 2000 suns was realised at the end of a single optical fibre. In addition to the total solar concentration, the spectral dependence was characterised to account for the effect of chromatic aberrations. Then, the solar concentration could be transferred into rare earth-doped fibres. For this reason, a series of experiments on double-clad erbium-doped silicate fibres was carried out. Although up-conversion in this type of fibre is minimised, the measured power dependence agrees with up-conversion via excited state absorption. In the second approach, concentrating optics were integrated in up-conversion solar cells. The role of the optics was to couple the photons transmitted by the solar cell to the rare earth up-converter. Therefore, imaging and non-imaging optics were investigated, with the latter exhibiting ideal coupling characteristics; concentration and high transmission of the incident irradiance, but also efficient collection of the up-converted emission. Out of the non-imaging optics, the dielectric compound parabolic concentrator fulfilled these characteristics, indicating its novel use in up-conversion solar cells. Two erbium-doped up-converters were utilised in this approach, beta-phase hexagonal sodium yttrium tetrafluoride (β-NaYF4:25%Er3+) and barium diyttrium octafluoride (BaY2F8:30%Er3+). The latter performed best, with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2.07% under 1493 nm illumination, while the former exhibited an EQE of 1.80% under 1523 nm illumination both at an irradiance of 0.02 W/cm2. This corresponds to a relative conversion efficiency of 0.199% and 0.163% under sub-band-gap illumination, respectively, for a solar cell of 17.6% under standard AM1.5G conditions. These values are among the highest in literature for up-conversion solar cells and show the potential of the concentrating concept that can be important for future directions of photovoltaics.