Luminescent solar concentrator containing Parylene-C microfibrous thin film infiltrated with Lumogen F Red 305

Abstract Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) were made by the infiltration of microfibrous thin films ( µ FTFs) of Parylene C by Lumogen F Red 305 (LFR305), in order to maximize the concentration of light made available to a photovoltaic solar cell (PVSC). The Parylene-C µ FTFs with either tilted columnar or chevronic morphology were fabricated using physicochemical vapor deposition and infiltrated with LFR305 using thermal evaporation. Application of a voltage across a photoresistor illuminated by a solar simulator (AM1.5) through an LFR305-infiltrated Parylene-C LSC resulted in an enhancement of the ON-OFF minimum current ratio by a factor of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>1.5</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.29</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> compared to the ratio before LFR305 infiltration/deposition, regardless of morphology; furthermore, LFR305 infiltration enhanced the ON-OFF minimum current ratio by <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>56.5</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>21.5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> %, depending on the morphology. The LSC concentration factor was determined to be <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>8.7</mml:mn> <mml:mo>±</mml:mo> <mml:mn>3.4</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> after integration with a monocrystalline-silicon solar cell, depending on the morphology.