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.