Si microwire-array solar cells

Si microwire-array solar cells with Air Mass 1.5 Global conversion efficiencies of up to 7.9% have been fabricated using an active volume of Si equivalent to a 4 [small mu ]m thick Si wafer. These solar cells exhibited open-circuit voltages of 500 mV, short-circuit current densities (Jsc) of up to 2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy & environmental science 2010-01, Vol.3 (8), p.1037-1041
Main Authors: Putnam, Morgan C, Boettcher, Shannon W, Kelzenberg, Michael D, Turner-Evans, Daniel B, Spurgeon, Joshua M, Warren, Emily L, Briggs, Ryan M, Lewis, Nathan S, Atwater, Harry A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Current density
Photoelectric effect
Photovoltaic cells
Silicon
Silver
Solar cells
Wire
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Summary:Si microwire-array solar cells with Air Mass 1.5 Global conversion efficiencies of up to 7.9% have been fabricated using an active volume of Si equivalent to a 4 [small mu ]m thick Si wafer. These solar cells exhibited open-circuit voltages of 500 mV, short-circuit current densities (Jsc) of up to 24 mA cm-2, and fill factors 65% and employed Al2O3 dielectric particles that scattered light incident in the space between the wires, a Ag back reflector that prevented the escape of incident illumination from the back surface of the solar cell, and an a-SiNx:H passivation/anti-reflection layer. Wire-array solar cells without some or all of these design features were also fabricated to demonstrate the importance of the light-trapping elements in achieving a high Jsc. Scanning photocurrent microscopy images of the microwire-array solar cells revealed that the higher Jsc of the most advanced cell design resulted from an increased absorption of light incident in the space between the wires. Spectral response measurements further revealed that solar cells with light-trapping elements exhibited improved red and infrared response, as compared to solar cells without light-trapping elements.
ISSN:1754-5692
1754-5706
DOI:10.1039/C0EE00014K