Progress towards the practical implementation of the intermediate band solar cell

The intermediate band solar cell is a novel solar cell with the potential of achieving a limiting efficiency of 63.2 % on the basis of the absorption of two sub-bandgap photons to create one electron-hole pair. The path towards its practical implementation has started following three strategies: a) Engineering the IB material through quantum dot technology, b) Direct synthesis of the IB material and c) creation of a localized absorber layer within a highly porous large bandgap semiconductor.