Photovoltaic Characteristics of Cupric Oxide/Silicon Heterojunction Nanodiodes

Solution-based approaches are used to prepare nanostructured materials for device applications to reduce material production and device fabrication costs. In this study, photovoltaic performance of Cupric oxide/Silicon p-n heterojunction nanodiodes were investigated. Highly dense and vertically well-aligned Silicon nanowire arrays were successfully synthesized on a n-type (100)- oriented Si wafer through electroless etching technique. p-type Cupric oxide thin films were then coated onto Silicon nanowires via chemical bath deposition method to form three-dimensional heterostructures. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements were utilized to examine photovoltaic properties of the fabricated heterojunction diodes. The maximum power conversion efficiency were found to be 0.58% under simulated solar irradiation of AM 1.5 G. Furthermore, relatively high external quantum efficiency over a broadband spectrum of wavelengths between 400-1100 nm was detected.