Developement of phosphors by magnetron sputtering for solar cells improvement

Phosphors based on LaNbO doped with Nd3+ on Si substrates have been achieved by means of magnetron sputtering together with ex-situ annealing at 1200 °C for 12 hours. NIR luminescence shows emission peaks at 1060 nm when a 520 nm laser source is applied. This response is equivalent to those detected in samples fabricated by solid state reaction method. According to the structural analysis carried out, it seems that two phases (LaNbO4 and La3NbO7) coexist, being LaNbO4 dominant. This result opens the possible of develop conventional substrates, such as Si, covered by luminescent materials as a previous stage for solar cells improvement based on photon recycling mechanisms.