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Assessing individual radial junction solar cells over millions on VLS-grown silicon nanowires.

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Title: Assessing individual radial junction solar cells over millions on VLS-grown silicon nanowires.
Authors: Linwei Yu1,2 Linwei.yu@polytechnique.edu, Rigutti, Lorenzo3,4, Tchernycheva, Maria3, Misra, Soumyadeep1, Foldyna, Martin1, Picardi, Gennaro1, Cabarrocas, Pere Roca i1
Source: Nanotechnology. 2013, Vol. 24 Issue 27, p1-8. 8p.
Subjects: Solar cells, Silicon nanowires, Electron beams, Plasma deposition, Substrates (Materials science)
Abstract: Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) grown on low-cost substrates provide an ideal framework for the monolithic fabrication of radial junction photovoltaics. However, the quality of junction formation over a random matrix of SiNWs, fabricated via a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, has never been assessed in a realistic context. To address this, we probe the current response of individual radial junction solar cells under electron-beam and optical-beam excitations. Excellent current generation from the radial junction units, compared to their planar counterparts, has been recorded, indicating a high junction quality and effective doping in the ultra-thin SiNWs with diameters thinner than 20 nm. Interestingly, we found that the formation of radial junctions by plasma deposition can be quite robust against geometrical disorder and even the crossings of neighboring cell units. These results provide a strong support to the feasibility of building high-quality radial junction solar cells over high-throughput VLS-grown SiNWs on low-cost substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Engineering Source
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Abstract:Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) grown on low-cost substrates provide an ideal framework for the monolithic fabrication of radial junction photovoltaics. However, the quality of junction formation over a random matrix of SiNWs, fabricated via a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, has never been assessed in a realistic context. To address this, we probe the current response of individual radial junction solar cells under electron-beam and optical-beam excitations. Excellent current generation from the radial junction units, compared to their planar counterparts, has been recorded, indicating a high junction quality and effective doping in the ultra-thin SiNWs with diameters thinner than 20 nm. Interestingly, we found that the formation of radial junctions by plasma deposition can be quite robust against geometrical disorder and even the crossings of neighboring cell units. These results provide a strong support to the feasibility of building high-quality radial junction solar cells over high-throughput VLS-grown SiNWs on low-cost substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:09574484
DOI:10.1088/0957-4484/24/27/275401