The key to this advance is solar-spectrum splitting, which allows one to process higher- and lower-energy solar photons separately. The higher-energy photons can generate a higher photovoltage, which could boost overall solar output.
To transform a window into a tandem luminescent sunlight collector, the Los Alamos team deposited a layer of highly emissive manganese-doped quantum dots onto the surface of the front glass pane and a layer of copper indium selenide quantum dots onto the surface of the back pane.