| Title | New Silicon Device Converts Blue Photons Into Red Photons | |
| Date | Thursday December 12 2019, @07:14PM | |
| Author | Fnord666 | |
| Topic | ||
| from the blue-and-red-make-purple dept. | ||
Submitted via IRC for RandomFactor
Researchers have developed a new hybrid device -- pairing silicon with organic, carbon-based molecules -- that can convert blue photons into red photons, paving the way for more efficient solar energy conversion.
Silicon's electronic properties make it a popular choice for a variety of technologies. The material, one of Earth's most abundant, is used to make everything from semiconductors to solar cells. But silicon isn't great at turning light into electricity.
While silicon can convert red photons into electricity just fine, its attempts to convert blue photons, which carry twice as much energy as red photons, yields mostly wasted thermal energy.
For the new device, engineers paired silicon with a carbon-based material called anthracene that converts blue photons into red photons, which the silicon can more easily convert into electricity.
Achieving spin-triplet exciton transfer between silicon and molecular acceptors for photon upconversion$, Nature Chemistry (DOI: doi:10.1038/s41557-019-0385-8)
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