Definition
1. The "quantum efficiency" (Q.E.) is the ratio of the number of carriers collected by the solar cell to the number of photons of a given energy incident on the solar cell. The quantum efficiency may be given either as a function of wavelength or as energy. If all photons of a certain wavelength are absorbed and the resulting minority carriers are collected, then the quantum efficiency at that particular wavelength is unity. The quantum efficiency for photons with energy below the band gap is zero. A quantum efficiency curve for an ideal solar cell is shown below.
2. A solar cell's quantum efficiency value indicates the amount of current that the cell will produce when irradiated by photons of a particular wavelength. If the cell's quantum efficiency is integrated over the whole solar electromagnetic spectrum, one can evaluate the amount of current that the cell will produce when exposed to sunlight. The ratio between this energy-production value and the highest possible energy-production value for the cell (i.e., if the QE were 100% over the whole spectrum) gives the cell's overall energy conversion efficiency value. Note that in the event of multiple exciton generation (MEG), quantum efficiencies of greater than 100% may be achieved since the incident photons have more than twice the band gap energy and can create two or more electron-hole pairs per incident photon.
Abbreviation
Q.E.
Synonyms
quantum yield, photon efficiency
Superterms
efficiency
Subterms
Sources
http://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/quantum-efficiency (1.); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_efficiency (2.)
Author: Simon Waterstradt
