Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-film Solar cells with Plasmonic-enhanced Light-trapping
Published on: July 2, 2012
Improving Si solar cell performance using Mn:ZnSe quantum dot-doped PLMA thin film
Dan-Chen Cheng1, Hong-Chen Hao, Miao Zhang
1Department of Optical Science and Engineering, and Shanghai Ultra-Precision Optical Manufacturing Engineering Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China. minglu@fudan.ac.cn.
Abstract:
Poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA) thin film doped with Mn:ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) was spin-deposited on the front surface of Si solar cell for enhancing the solar cell efficiency via photoluminescence (PL) conversion. Significant solar cell efficiency enhancements (approximately 5% to 10%) under all-solar-spectrum (AM0) condition were observed after QD-doped PLMA coatings. Furthermore, the real contribution of the PL conversion was precisely assessed by investigating the photovoltaic responses of the QD-doped PLMA to monochromatic and AM0 light sources as functions of QD concentration, combined with reflectance and external quantum efficiency measurements. At a QD concentration of 1.6 mg/ml for example, among the efficiency enhancement of 5.96%, about 1.04% was due to the PL conversion, and the rest came from antireflection. Our work indicates that for the practical use of PL conversion in solar cell performance improvement, cautions are to be taken, as the achieved efficiency enhancement might not be wholly due to the PL conversion.

