Electrical and optical properties of nanowires based solar cell with radial p-n junction

• Published in: Opto-electronics review Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 143 - 148
• Main Authors: Pylypova, O.V., Evtukh, A.A., Parfenyuk, P.V., Ivanov, I.I., Korobchuk, I.M., Havryliuk, O.O., Semchuk, O.Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2019
• Subjects: Light trapping; Metal assisted chemical etching; Nanowire array; Reflectance; Solar cell; Solar cell; Metal assisted chemical etching; Light trapping; Nanowire array; Reflectance
• ISSN: 1230-3402; 1896-3757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.opelre.2019.05.003

[Display omitted] •Silicon nanowires on p-type Si substrate were formed by the MacEtch method with silver as the catalyst in optimized conditions.•Both the theoretical modeling of optical parameters by FDTD method and experimental results demonstrated high light trapping.•Solar cells with radial (coaxial) p-n junction were formed and high energy conversation was demonstrated with efficiency of 7%. In our studies the absorption, transmittance and reflectance spectra for periodic nanostructures with different parameters were calculated by the FDTD (Finite-Difference Time-Domain) method. It is shown that the proportion of reflected light in periodic structures is smaller than in case of thin films. The experimental results showed the light reflectance in the spectral range of 400–900 nm lower than 1% and it was significantly lower in comparison with surface texturing by pyramids or porous silicon. Silicon nanowires on p-type Si substrate were formed by the Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching method (MacEtch). At solar cells with radial p-n junction formation the thermal diffusion of phosphorus has been used at 790 °C. Such low temperature ensures the formation of an ultra-shallow p-n junction. Investigation of the photoelectrical properties of solar cells was carried out under light illumination with an intensity of 100 mW/cm2. The obtained parameters of NWs' solar cell were Isc = 22 mA/cm2, Uoc = 0.62 V, FF = 0.51 for an overall efficiency η = 7%. The relatively low efficiency of obtained SiNWs solar cells is attributed to the excessive surface recombination at high surface areas of SiNWs and high series resistance.