Methods and systems to boost efficiency of solar cells

A method comprising:

• i) providing a solar cell panel configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range;
• ii) fabricating a top structure on a top surface of the solar cell panel, the top surface being oriented towards incident electromagnetic radiation, the top structure configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range, the second wavelength range comprising shorter wavelength than the first wavelength range, wherein the fabricating the top structure comprises:
• depositing a first transparent electrode on the top surface of the solar cell panel;
• functionalizing a top surface of the first transparent electrode with a self-saturated monolayer of a first functional group;
• functionalizing a first plurality of semiconducting particles with a second functional group, the second functional group chosen so as to form a covalent or ionic bond with the first functional group;
• forming a first monolayer comprising the first plurality of semiconducting particles on the first transparent electrode;
• and
• depositing a second transparent electrode on the first monolayer;
• iii) fabricating a bottom structure on a bottom surface of the solar cell panel, the bottom surface opposite to the top surface, the bottom structure configured to absorb electromagnetic radiation in a third wavelength range, the third wavelength range comprising longer wavelengths than the first wavelength range,
• wherein the fabricating the bottom structure comprises:
• depositing a third transparent electrode on the bottom surface of the solar cell panel;
• functionalizing a surface of the third transparent electrode with a self-saturated monolayer of the first functional group;
• functionalizing a second plurality of semiconducting particles with the second functional group;
• forming a second monolayer comprising the second plurality of semiconducting particles on the third transparent electrode;
• and
• depositing a fourth transparent electrode on the second monolayer;
• and
• iv) depositing a first electron transport layer and a first hole transport layer each on opposite sides of the first layer of semiconducting particles, and a second electron transport layer and a second hole transport layer each on opposite sides of the second layer of semiconducting particles,
• wherein:
• the top structure comprises a plurality of manufactured elements,
• the first and second electron transport layers are selected from the group consisting of:
• TiO2, WO3, PbO, MnTiO3, SnO2, In2O3, Ca, LiFX, CsFx, KFx, CsOx, MgFx, and LaB6,
• the first and second hole transport layers area selected from the group consisting of:
• GaP, AlSb, ZnTe, NiO, AlCuO2, MoOx, WOx, CuPc, CuSCN, CuOx:N, and V2Ox,
• the first layer of semiconducting particles is selected from the group consisting of:
• InGaP, CdSe, CdZnTe, AlGaAs, CdSTe, CdSSe, CsPbCI, CsPbBr, and CsPbl, and
• the second layer of semiconducting particles is selected from the group consisting of:
• PbS, PbSe, PbTe, HgS, HgCdTe, HgCdSe, Bi2Se3, Ge, GaSb, and InGaAs.