Bi-Sn alloy catalyst for simultaneous morphology and doping control of silicon nanowires in radial junction solar cells
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and School of Electronics Science and Engineering/Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)
- LPICM, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay, 91128 Palaiseau (France)
Low-melting point metals such as bismuth (Bi) and tin (Sn) are ideal choices for mediating a low temperature growth of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) for radial junction thin film solar cells. The incorporation of Bi catalyst atoms leads to sufficient n-type doping in the SiNWs core that exempts the use of hazardous dopant gases, while an easy morphology control with pure Bi catalyst has never been demonstrated so far. We here propose a Bi-Sn alloy catalyst strategy to achieve both a beneficial catalyst-doping and an ideal SiNW morphology control. In addition to a potential of further growth temperature reduction, we show that the alloy catalyst can remain quite stable during a vapor-liquid-solid growth, while providing still sufficient n-type catalyst-doping to the SiNWs. Radial junction solar cells constructed over the alloy-catalyzed SiNWs have demonstrated a strongly enhanced photocurrent generation, thanks to optimized nanowire morphology, and largely improved performance compared to the reference samples based on the pure Bi or Sn-catalyzed SiNWs.
- OSTI ID:
- 22485945
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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