Title :
Analysis of semiconductor nanowire arrays for photovoltaics
Author :
Witzigmann, Bernd ; Yu, Shuqing ; Kupec, Jan
Author_Institution :
Comput. Electron. & Photonics Group, Univ. of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
Abstract :
The electro-optical properties of nanowire array solar cells are analyzed with a microscopic simulation model. For the electromagnetic part, the vectorial Helmholtz equation is solved for the three-dimensional structure, and a modal analysis reveals the absorption mechanisms. The electronic part is analyzed with a drift-diffusion approach. It is shown that with a proper design, a III-V nanowire array solar cell can approach the efficiency of a thin-film solar cell, while only a fraction of the active material volume is used.
Keywords :
Helmholtz equations; III-V semiconductors; modal analysis; nanowires; solar cell arrays; thin films; III-V nanowire array solar cell; absorption mechanisms; active material volume; drift-diffusion approach; electromagnetic part; electronic part; electrooptical properties; microscopic simulation model; modal analysis; nanowire array solar cells; photovoltaics; semiconductor nanowire arrays; thin-film solar cell; three-dimensional structure; vectorial Helmholtz equation; Absorption; Analytical models; Indexes; Materials; Mathematical model; Photovoltaic cells; Wires;
Conference_Titel :
Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA), 2011 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Torino
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-976-8
DOI :
10.1109/ICEAA.2011.6046396
