Cu-doped photovoltaic glasses by ion exchange for sunlight down–shifting

Abstract Ion exchange process is a widely studied synthesis technique for the controlled modification of silicate glass composition and properties, being moreover an easy and cheap approach. Silicate glasses containing copper are known to exhibit a broad luminescent band peaked around 500 nm, ascribed to 3d10–3d94s1 electronic transition of Cu+ ions; this band turns out to be much promising for the realization of down–shifting systems, being excited in the UV and near–UV region. Luminescent Cu–doped silicate glass sheets suitable as down–shifters to be used for covering solar cells have been prepared by thermal ion exchange. Synthesis of the Cu–doped glasses has been done by dipping pure silicate sheets (commercially used as cover of photovoltaic panels) into a fused copper salt mixture at temperature of 400 °C, for duration between a few minutes and some hours; two different types of copper chloride salt mixtures were explored, with the aim at obtaining luminescent glasses able to improve the Si cell yield. Absorption and luminescence glass features were collected and compared. The performance of the different samples was tested by a solar simulator, measuring the output power of a Si solar cell covered with the Cu–doped glass slides.