Phosphorescent Solar Cell Structure for Dark Power Generation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Solar cells lack flexibility in power generation, as they only produce electricity during daylight hours and have relatively low efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a phosphorescent material within the solar cell that absorbs high-energy photons and emits lower-energy photons over extended periods, enhancing energy transfer to acceptor particles and increasing efficiency, allowing power generation in dark conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a phosphorescent material is incorporated into the solar cell, then power generation capability in dark conditions is enabled and efficiency under illumination is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The solar cell employs a composite structure integrating phosphorescent donor particles with light absorber acceptor particles. The phosphorescent material (e.g., SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy) is combined with semiconductor particles (e.g., TiO2, ZnO, or dye-sensitized particles) to create a donor-acceptor system that enables both daylight and dark power generation through phosphorescence-mediated electron-hole pair generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The phosphorescent donor particles are positioned in close proximity to and surrounding the light absorber acceptor particles, creating a nested configuration where the donor particles act as an outer layer that stores and releases energy to the inner acceptor particles during dark periods, enabling continuous operation.
2Loss of energy
If the phosphorescent material is placed in close proximity to the light absorber, then energy transfer efficiency is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A thin film spacer layer is introduced between the phosphorescent donor particles and the light absorber acceptor particles. This spacer maintains the required close proximity for efficient energy transfer while providing a manufacturable structure that can be applied using conventional thin film deposition techniques, reducing the stringency of manufacturing precision requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system optimizes the wavelength matching between the phosphorescent emission spectrum and the light absorber absorption spectrum. By selecting phosphorescent materials whose emission wavelengths closely match the absorption bands of the semiconductor particles (e.g., matching SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy emission at 520nm with TiO2 absorption), the energy transfer efficiency is maximized through spectral overlap, reducing the need for extremely tight spatial control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Improves solar cell efficiency by approximately 60% under illumination and 300 times in dark conditions, enabling continuous power output.
Implementation Method 1
The phosphorescent material is designed and synthesized so as to match its emission wavelength with the absorption spectrum of the light absorber. The aforementioned phosphorescent material comprises a donor chromophore (donor particles) that absorbs high energy photons of solar light and emits light of low energy photons over extended rime periods.
Implementation Method 2
Upon excitation, a generation, injection, and flow of electrons in the solid state light absorber region results in response to absorbed photons.
Data Source
AI summary
A solar cell device having a solid state light absorber region that incorporates a donor-acceptor particle structure. The particle structure includes acceptor particles that generate a flow of electrons in the solid state light absorber region in response to absorbed photons; and donor particles comprising a phosphorescent material, wherein each donor particle is coupled to a group of acceptor particles, and wherein the phosphorescent material absorbs high energy photons and emits lower energy photons that are absorbed by the acceptor particles.