Silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) featuring high photoluminescence (PL) intensity are necessary for the realization of different photonic and photovoltaic devices, such as light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) and luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). Herein, Si QDs on a ≈100–200 nm thin silicon dioxide membrane with a metal back‐coating are prepared. The dots are formed from the device layer of a silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) wafer by etching and thermal oxidation. Aluminum is sputtered on the backside of the membrane, acting as a back‐surface mirror, changing the local density of optical modes, as well as the local excitation field. The PL properties of such Si QDs are then characterized at the single‐particle level. It is found that the PL yield of single Si QDs on the membrane is enhanced by approximately one order of magnitude, compared with that of Si QDs outside the membrane under the same excitation power. These results indicate that advances in nanofabrication can substantially improve the optical properties of Si QDs, thus paving the way for their application.

A wafer-scale fabrication method for isolated silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) using standard CMOS technology is presented. Reactive ion etching was performed on the device layer of a silicon-on-insulator wafer, creating nano-sized silicon islands. Subsequently, the wafer was annealed at 1100 degrees C for 1 h in an atmosphere of 5% H(2)in Ar, forming a thin oxide passivating layer due to trace amounts of oxygen. Isolated Si QDs covering large areas (similar to mm(2)) were revealed by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The emission energies of such Si QDs can span over a broad range, from 1.3 to 2.0 eV and each dot is typically characterized by a single emission line at low temperatures. Most of the Si QDs exhibited a high degree of linear polarization along Si crystallographic directions [110] abd [(1) over bar 10]. In addition, system resolution-limited (250 mu eV) PL linewidths (full width at half maximum) were measured for several Si QDs at 10 K, with no clear correlation between emission energy and polarization. The initial part of PL decays was measured at room temperature for such oxide-embedded Si QDs, approximately several microseconds long. By providing direct access to a broad size range of isolated Si QDs on a wafer, this technique paves the way for the future fabrication of photonic structures with Si QDs, which can potentially be used as single-photon sources with a long coherence length.

Luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) is a promising technology to integrate semitransparent photovoltaic (PV) systems into modern buildings and vehicles. Silicon quantum dots (QDs) are good candidates as fluorophores in LSCs, due to the absence of overlap between absorption and emission spectra, high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), good stability, nontoxicity, and element abundance. Herein, LSCs based on Si QDs/polymer nanocomposites are fabricated in a triplex glass configuration. A special polymer matrix (off-stoichiometric thiol-ene, OSTE) is used, which improves Si nanocrystal quantum yield. Herein, a comprehensive investigation to improve the performance of LSCs by exploring different strategies under the guidance of a theoretical description is conducted. Among these strategies, the systematical enhancement of PLQY of the nanocomposite is achieved by tuning the thiol/allyl group ratio in the OSTE matrix. In addition, ligand selection and loading optimization for QDs reduce the total scattering loss in the device. Finally, an optical power efficiency of 7.9% is achieved for an optimized LSC prototype (9 x 9 x 0.6 cm(3), transmittance approximate to 62% at 500 nm) based on Si QDs/OSTE nanocomposite, which shows good potential of this material system in LSC fabrication.

As a cost-effective batch synthesis method, Si quantum dots (QDs) with nearinfrared photoluminescence, high quantum yield (>50% in polymer nanocomposite), and nearunity internal quantum efficiency were fabricated from an inexpensive commercial precursor (triethoxysilane, TES), using optimized annealing and etching processes. The optical properties of such QDs are similar to those prepared from state-of-the-art precursors (hydrogen silsesquioxane, HSQ) yet featuring an order of magnitude lower cost. To understand the effect of synthesis parameters on QD optical properties, we conducted a thorough comparison study between common solid precursors: TES, HSQ, and silicon monoxide (SiO), including chemical, structural, and optical characterizations. We found that the structural nonuniformity and abundance of oxide inherent to SiO limited the resultant QD performance, while for TES-derived QDs this drawback can be avoided. The presented low-cost synthetic approach would significantly favor applications requiring high loading of good-quality Si QDs, such as light conversion for photovoltaics.

A concept of transparent “quantum dot glass”(TQDG) is proposed for a combination of a quantum dot(QD)-based glass luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) and itsedge-attached solar cells, as a type of transparent photovoltaics(TPVs) for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). Differentfrom conventional LSCs, which typically serve as pure opticaldevices, TQDGs have to fulfill requirements as both powergeneratingcomponents and building construction materials. In thiswork, we demonstrate large-area (400 cm2) TQDGs based onsilicon QDs in a triplex glass configuration. An overall powerconversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.57% was obtained with back-reflection for a transparent TQDG (average visible transmittance of84% with a color rendering index of 88 and a low haze ≤3%), contributing to a light utilization efficiency (LUE) of 1.3%, which isamong the top reported TPVs based on the LSC technology with similar size. Most importantly, these TQDGs are shown to havebetter thermal and sound insulation properties compared to normal float glass, as well as improved mechanical performance andsafety, which significantly pushes the TPV technology toward practical building integration. TQDGs simultaneously exhibit favorablephotovoltaic, aesthetic, and building envelope characteristics and can serve as a multifunctional material for the realization of nearlyzero-energy building concepts.

This letter introduces a novel approach estimating the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a square luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) by point excitations on the “optical centers” as proposed here. Predicted by theoretical calculations, photoluminescence emissions from these optical centers experience almost the same average optical path with those from the whole device under uniform illumination. This is experimentally verified by a 20 × 20 cm2 silicon quantum dots-based LSC, with a negligible error between the predicted PCE and the measured one. This method provides a convenient way to estimate the photovoltaic performance of large-area LSC devices with basic laboratory instruments.