UbiQD developing novel encapsulant technology for solar modules

The U.S.-based quantum dot (QD) materials company is developing polymer encapsulation materials that reportedly have the potential to provide a relative power boost of 16% when integrated into crystalline silicon PV devices.

March 4, 2025 Valerie Thompson

Image: BlueDot Photonics

From pv magazine Global

UbiQD, a U.S.-based quantum dot (QD) materials company, is developing novel polymer film encapsulant products for the silicon solar PV industry.

“We have been developing downshifting polymers that contain QDs for various kinds of solar cells,” Hunter McDaniel, UbiQD CEO, told pv magazine. “The goal is to avoid any changes to the manufacturing process by incorporating fluorescence into the encapsulation layer.”

To advance the functionality of its solar PV products, UbiQD recently acquired U.S.-based BlueDot Photonics, a company developing doped perovskite materials that reportedly have the potential to provide a relative power boost of 16% when integrated into crystalline silicon PV devices.

A link was provided in the press release to a 2020 conference paper, “Ray-Tracing Analysis of Module-Level Power Generation from Quantum-Cutting Ytterbium-Doped Metal-Halide Perovskites,” detailing the work of BlueDot Photonics’ researchers on ytterbium-doped CsPb(Cl1-xBrx)3 quantum-cutting downconversion materials.

UbiQD intends to integrate BlueDot Photonics technology into its solar PV products to “eventually be sold as a compounded polymer masterbatches to the interlayer film” manufacturers, according to McDaniel.

“It is relatively early in the development cycle, but the simple idea is that you will boost photocurrent by increasing the number of near-IR photons provided to the cell (converted from UV photons). Quantum cutting allows for photon multiplication, creating up to two near-IR photons for each UV photon,” explained McDaniel.

Founded in 2014, UbiQD has been developing technology for several applications, including greenhouses solar films and coatings for window interlayers. Its solar PV activity has involved research projects with First Solar, a based thin-film PV panel manufacturer, as well as projects with U.S. research institutes.

BlueDot Photonics was a collaborator in the U.S. MAP perovskite consortium, alongside the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, several university research groups and industry partners. It had licensed intellectual property from the University of Washington, which will now be available to UbiQD.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.