Nanowire and nanohole silicon solar cells: a thorough optoelectronic evaluation

Photovoltaic devices with nanostructured active layers have attracted considerable attention for their outstanding light‐trapping capability. Although with the promise of an efficient light‐conversion, the realistic performance is still far from expectation. This is because the detailed electrical m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress in photovoltaics 2015-12, Vol.23 (12), p.1734-1741
Main Authors: Shang, Aixue, Zhai, Xiongfei, Zhang, Cheng, Zhan, Yaohui, Wu, Shaolong, Li, Xiaofeng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Devices
Nanostructure
nanostructured solar cells
Nanowires
optical and electrical simulation
Optoelectronics
Photovoltaic cells
Semiconductor materials
Silicon
Solar cells
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Summary:Photovoltaic devices with nanostructured active layers have attracted considerable attention for their outstanding light‐trapping capability. Although with the promise of an efficient light‐conversion, the realistic performance is still far from expectation. This is because the detailed electrical mechanisms have seldom been included into the design, leading to a substantial discrepancy between prediction and reality. This paper reports a complete optoelectronic simulation for nanowire and nanohole solar cells by addressing electromagnetic and carrier‐transport response in a coupled finite‐element method. The effects of surface/bulk recombination are quantified and compared for nanowire and nanohole solar cells with radial and axial doping profiles. Our results reveal that the axially doped silicon cells are extremely sensitive to surface recombination because of the large surface‐to‐volume ratio and lateral recombination loss, eventually reducing the photocurrent and light‐conversion efficiency. Relatively, radially doped silicon cells with a moderate nanowire length show some improvement relative to axially doped cells, but nevertheless remain very sensitive to recombination losses. Comparison of the light‐trapping and electrical performance between nanowire and nanohole solar cells is also given. The methodology is applicable for nanostructured solar cells based on various semiconductor materials and system configurations, and is expected to play a promising role in accurately predicting the performance of the new‐generation light‐conversion devices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This paper reports a complete optoelectronic simulation for nanowire and nanohole solar cells (SCs) addressing electromagnetic and carrier‐transport response in a coupled finite‐element method. The effects of surface recombination and bulk recombination are quantified and compared for nanowire and nanohole SCs with radial and axial doping profiles. The methodology is applicable for nanostructured SCs based on various semiconductor materials and configurations, and is expected to play a promising role in accurately predicting the performance of the new‐generation light‐conversion devices.
ISSN:1062-7995
1099-159X
DOI:10.1002/pip.2613