Hybrid ZnO nanowire/a-Si:H thin-film radial junction solar cells using nanoparticle front contacts

Journal Article · Mon Oct 05 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4932649· OSTI ID:22482229

Iheanacho, B.; Lee, C. -H.; Wong, W. S. ^[1]; Tamang, A.; Knipp, D. ^[2]; Lujan, R. ^[3]

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1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)
2. Research Center for Functional Materials and Nanomolecular Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen 28759 (Germany)
3. Electronic Materials and Devices Laboratory, Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, California 93003 (United States)

Hydrothermally synthesized disordered ZnO nanowires were conformally coated with a-Si:H thin-films to fabricate three dimensional hybrid nanowire/thin-film structures. The a-Si:H layer formed a radial junction p-i-n diode solar cell around the ZnO nanowire. The cylindrical hybrid solar cells enhanced light scattering throughout the UV-visible-NIR spectrum (300 nm–800 nm) resulting in a 22% increase in short-circuit current density compared to the reference planar p-i-n device. A fill factor of 69% and a total power conversion efficiency of 6.5% were achieved with the hybrid nanowire solar cells using a spin-on indium tin oxide nanoparticle suspension as the top contact.

• OSTI ID: 22482229
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 14; 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

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
FILL FACTORS
HYBRIDIZATION
HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS
LIGHT SCATTERING
NANOWIRES
SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS
SOLAR CELLS
SPIN
THIN FILMS
TIN OXIDES
ZINC OXIDES