Bill Cass

Project Title: Development of Luminescent Downshifting Layers for improving efficiency in Photovoltaic Technology

Keywords: Solar, PV, Photovoltaic, Luminescent Downshifting Layers, Luminescence, Downshifting, Integration, Polymer Layer

Solar energy is abundant all across the world for extended periods of time. Currently is not utilized, however through the use of photovoltaic (PV) systems, solar energy can be used to aid in the running of domestic dwellings or commercial buildings to provide energy to heating systems or lighting through LEDs. . The addition of solar energy as a renewable energy source can help reduce a buildings reliance upon a region’s energy grid through distributed onsite energy generation, such as the provision heating of space/ water, or electricity. At a building scale, this will reduce the demand on an energy grid, and if introduced on a large scale can have a large reduction on energy produced through non-renewable sources such as coal, oil or gas. In Ireland, renewable sources (including solar, hydro and wind) is the third most used energy source.

Luminescent Downshifting (LDS) is a process when light interacts with fabricated layer that is applied to a PV substrate. Depending on the composition of the layer, the interaction can shift wavelengths of light to a more applicable wavelength for the PV substrate to generate an output (within the solar cells spectral response). An LDS layer can be used to reduce spectral losses that are experienced by a PV cell.

Developing the LDS further with the addition of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) to produce plasmonic LDS (pLDS) layers. These MNPs can be used to compliment the luminescent dye by expanding the absorption range, improving the layers characteristics further.

Supervisor:  Prof. Sarah McCormack