Effect of internal surface area on the performance of ZnO∕In2S3∕CuSCN solar cells with extremely thin absorber

Abstract

Solar cells with an extremely thin light absorber were realized by wet chemical preparation on arrays of ZnO nanorods. The absorber consisted of an In2S3 layer (∼20nm thickness) and its interface region with a transparent CuSCN hole conductor. By changing the length of the nanorods (0–3.3μm) and keeping the In2S3 layer thickness constant at ∼20nm, the short circuit current increased from about 2–10mA∕cm2. A marked increase of the external quantum efficiency at longer wavelengths is attributed to light scattering and a solar energy conversion efficiency of 2.5% has been demonstrated.

Nanorod solar cell with an ultrathin a-Si:H absorber layer

“…32 For the planar and the textured structure, bulk recombination is dominating, whereas for the nanorod geometry, surface recombination adversely affects the V oc due to the increased internal surface area in comparison to that in devices either on planar or textured surfaces. 2,3,9,11 This demonstrates that limitation of surface and interface states is crucial for further optimization of these nanorod cells.…”

TiO2 photoanode sensitized with nanocrystalline Bi2S3: the effect of sensitization time and annealing on its photovoltaic performance

“…Nowadays, nanostructured semiconductors employing various strategies have apparently shown very promising contribution in solar cell applications as sensitizers (Sun et al 2008;Chen et al 2011Chen et al , 2012Kieven et al 2008;Wang et al 2012;Rajendra Prasad et al 2013;Mane et al 2014). Semiconductor-sensitized solar cells are excitonic solar cells that are architecturally similar to dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) but the difference is that the semiconductor nanocrystals are the light harvesters in the former and it is the dye molecules which absorb light in the latter (Nozik 2008).…”

“…In general, semiconductors like CdS (Sun et al 2008), CdSe (Chen et al 2012), Ag 2 S (Chen et al 2011), In 2 S 3 (Kieven et al 2008) and PbS (Wang et al 2012) are extensively used as sensitizers for solar cell applications. Results obtained in previous works suggest that for optimal performance in heterojunction solar cells, the sensitizer should have an optical band gap in the range of 1-2.5 eV (Sun et al 2008;Chen et al 2011Chen et al , 2012Kieven et al 2008;Wang et al 2012). Therefore, bismuth sulfide (Bi 2 S 3 ), a group V-VI, direct band gaps semiconducting materials of interest for solar cell application due to its large absorption coefficient and bulk band gap of 1.3 eV (Lokhande et al 1997).…”

Vertically Aligned ZnO/InxSy Core–Shell Nanorods for High Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

“…20 Several methods for the In 2 S 3 preparation are the spray ion layer gas reaction (ILGAR), sputtering, atomic layer deposition (ALD) or successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). 17,[21][22][23] Among all the latter techniques, SILAR is the most desirable since it avoids the use of toxic H 2 S gas and is also a low-cost technique. Up to now only ZnO NRs -In 2 S 3 core-shell were applied in inorganic solid state solar cells with extremely thin absorber (ETA) and CuSCN to act as hole conductor achieving a 3.2% e±ciency when the In 2 S 3 was deposited by the ILGAR technique.…”