A Deep-Red Emission Phosphor Y₂SrAl₄SiO₁₂:Ce³⁺, Cr³⁺ and Its Utilization in Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of crystalline silicon solar cells has reached a bottleneck. Further improving the PCE is an important current research topic. This Letter reports a new phosphor Y₂SrAl₄SiO₁₂:Ce³⁺, Cr³⁺. Under the excitation in the wavelength range of 320-650 nm, the phosphor Y₂SrAl₄SiO₁₂:Ce³⁺, Cr³⁺ exhibits a deep-red emission in the 500-800 nm range. Due to the energy transfer from Ce³⁺ to Cr³⁺, the luminescence intensity of Cr³⁺ is further enhanced. This matches well with the spectrum of silicon solar cells. Because of the powerful absorption and high internal quantum efficiency, Y₂SrAl₄SiO₁₂:Ce³⁺, Cr³⁺ was used to prepare energy down-conversion (EDC) films. By applying the EDC film on the surface of silicon solar cells, the relative PCE increases by 2.018%. These results indicate that Y₂SrAl₄SiO₁₂:Ce³⁺, Cr³⁺ is an excellent deep-red garnet structured phosphor and furthermore has a positive effect on the enhancement of the PCE of solar cells.