University of Toronto

Aaron Barkhouse

Edward Hartley Sargent

Xihua Wang

Gerasimos Konstantatos

Andras Pattantyus-Abraham

Jiang Tang

Illan Kramer

Ratan Debnath

Edward H Sargent

Lukasz Brzozowski

Ghada Koleilat

Konstantatos Gerasimos

Photovoltaic cells are fabricated in which the compositions of the light-absorbing layer and the electron-accepting layer are selected such that at least one side of the junction between these two layers is substantially depleted of charge carriers, i.e., both free electrons and free holes, in the absence of solar illumination. In further aspects of the invention, the light-absorbing layer is comprised of dual-shell passivated quantum dots, each having a quantum dot core with surface anions, an inner shell containing cations to passivate the core surface anions, and an outer shell to passivate the inner shell anions and anions on the core surface.

Photovoltaic devices with depleted heterojunctions and shell-passivated nanoparticles

A recombination layer with a gradient work function is provided which increases the power-conversion efficiency of multijunction photovoltaic devices by reducing the energy barrier to charge carriers migrating between pairs of photovoltaic junctions thereby facilitating the optimal recombination of opposing electron and hole currents generated when the photovoltaic is illuminated.

Photovoltaic devices with multiple junctions separated by a graded recombination layer

Growing community of inventors

Yorktown Heights, NY, United States of America

Aaron Barkhouse