Title :
A Si Nanowire Photovoltaic Device Prepared by Selective Electroless Etching
Author :
Tsai, T.Y. ; Chang, S.J. ; Hsueh, T.J. ; Hsu, C.L. ; Weng, W.Y. ; Shieh, J.M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Nat. Cheng Kung Univ., Tainan, Taiwan
Abstract :
This study reports the preparation of Si nanowires (SiNWs) by selective electroless etching and fabrication of photovoltaic (PV) cells. It was found that the SiNWs with 3 μm average length and 100 nm average diameter were formed only in the areas not covered by the Cr electrodes. It was also found that average reflectance in the 400-1000 nm wavelength range reduced from 35% to around 2% with the SiNWs. Furthermore, it was found that we could enhance the short-circuit current density of the PV cells from 11.5 to 21.8 mA/cm2 and enhance conversion efficiency of the PV cells from 4.62% to 8.15% using the selective electroless etching.
Keywords :
current density; elemental semiconductors; etching; infrared spectra; nanofabrication; nanowires; semiconductor growth; short-circuit currents; silicon; solar cells; ultraviolet spectra; visible spectra; PV cells; Si; conversion efficiency; nanowire photovoltaic device; photovoltaic cells; reflectance; selective electroless etching; short-circuit current density; wavelength 400 nm to 1000 nm; Electrodes; Etching; Photovoltaic systems; Reflectivity; Silicon; Capping layer; Si nanowires; photovoltaic; selective electroless etching;
Journal_Title :
Nanotechnology, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TNANO.2012.2214399
