Improved efficiency of silicon polycrystalline commercial photovoltaic cells coated with a co-doped Er3+/Yb3+ silica matrix

Electrical energy produced by photovoltaic cells is extremely interesting because it originates from a clean and renewable source. However, cell efficiency is low due to factors such as temperature, solar spectrum radiation intensity, and incomplete use of all solar radiation wavelengths reaching the Earth (e.g., infrared radiation). Solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface has ultraviolet, visible, and infrared components, which has...