I was reading an article in Technology Review about a cheap, ultra-sensitive IR detector. One of the things that it mentioned was that quantum dots were tunable to react to specific frequencies. How does that work and does it mean that the dot will create a voltage potential when struck by the frequency it is tuned for?
Next question: It is my understanding that one of the problems with traditional solar cells is that they only react to specific frequencies in white light which limits their efficiency. Is that accurate?
The upshot of all this is that I was wondering if it were possible to make a broad spectrum solar cell using quantum dots. Would that work and be a way of increasing the power/surface area of a cell? Is anyone trying this approach?
Thanks,
Rob