Figure 1 Schematic view of solar cell with upconverter layer at the back. It is surrounded by a back reflector to ensure that upconverted radiation is directed towards the solar cell where it can be absorbed. The usefulness of down- and upconversion R428 mw and downshifting depends on the incident spectrum and intensity. While solar cells are designed and tested according to the ASTM standard [21], these conditions are rarely met outdoors. Spectral conditions for solar cells vary from AM0 (extraterrestrial) via AM1 (equator, summer and winter solstice) to AM10 (sunrise, sunset).

The weighted average photon energy (APE) [22] can be used to parameterize this; the APE (using the range 300 to 1,400 nm) of AM1.5G is 1.674 eV, while the APE of AM0 and AM10 are 1.697 and 1.307 eV, respectively. Further, overcast skies cause higher scattering leading to diffuse spectra, which are blue-rich,

e.g., the APE of the AM1.5 diffuse spectrum is calculated to be 2.005 eV, indeed much larger than the APE of the AM1.5 direct spectrum of 1.610 eV. As downconversion Adriamycin research buy and downshifting effectively red-shift spectra, the more relative energy an incident spectrum contains in the blue part of the spectrum (high APE), the more gain can be expected [12, 23]. Application of downconversion layers will therefore be more beneficial for regions with high diffuse irradiation fraction, such as Northwestern Europe, where this fraction can be 50% or higher. In contrast, solar cells with upconversion (UC) layers

will be performing well in countries with high direct irradiation fractions or in early morning and evening due to the high air mass resulting in low APE, albeit that the non-linear response to intensity may be limiting. Up- and downconversion layers could be combined on the same solar cell to overcome regionally dependent efficiencies. Optimization of either up- or downconversion layers could be very effective if the solar cell bandgap is a free design parameter. In this Glycogen branching enzyme paper, we focus on upconversion materials for solar cells, in particular for thin-film silicon solar cells. We describe the present state of the art in upconversion materials and application in solar cells. Upconversion Principles Upconversion was suggested by Bloembergen [24] and was related to the development of this website infrared (IR) detectors: IR photons would be detected through sequential absorption, as would be possible by the arrangement of energy levels of a solid. However, as Auzel pointed out, the essential role of energy transfer was only recognized nearly 20 years later [25].