Credit: Berkeley Lab
An erbium atom (red) in a nanocrystal emits visible, green light via a process known as upconversion that could lead to the development of improved solar cells that capture some previously missed solar energy. Scientists discovered that coating the particles with dyes (blue and purple molecules at right) can greatly enhance this light-converting property. An erbium atom (red) in a nanocrystal emits visible, green light via a process known as upconversion that could lead to the development of improved solar cells that capture some previously missed solar energy. Scientists discovered that coating the particles with dyes (blue and purple molecule at right) can greatly enhance this light-converting property.