Front and Back‐Junction Carbon Nanotube‐Silicon Solar Cells with an Industrial Architecture

Chen, Jianhui; Tune, Daniel D.; Ge, Kunpeng; Li, Han; Flavel, Benjamin S.

doi:10.1002/adfm.202000484

Cited by 44 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…At the silicon surface, a mixed CNT/Si and Nafion/Si PCSC junction was formed, where the CNTs were used to extract holes and the sulfonic groups of the Nafion were used for interfacial passivation. [ 25,32,45 ] Because of the unsorted raw material containing CNTs with different bandgaps and electronic types, it is difficult to identify its physical nature of the junction simply as a Schottky, metal‐insulator‐semiconductor or p‐n junction [ 32,46 ] but the Barden model including the interface of density fits the device physics well. [ 32 ] Uniform interfacial contact between the silicon and the CNT:Nafion film is therefore highly important for high performance solar cells.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 25,32,45 ] Because of the unsorted raw material containing CNTs with different bandgaps and electronic types, it is difficult to identify its physical nature of the junction simply as a Schottky, metal‐insulator‐semiconductor or p‐n junction [ 32,46 ] but the Barden model including the interface of density fits the device physics well. [ 32 ] Uniform interfacial contact between the silicon and the CNT:Nafion film is therefore highly important for high performance solar cells. During fabrication the silicon wafer is textured in a KOH bath to afford pyramids on both sides of the wafer as shown in Figure a.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, CNT:Si solar cells have been developed from 1.4% PCE in first reports to 17.2% and 18.9% for front‐ and back‐junction devices with 1 and 3 cm 2 device areas, respectively. [ 31,32 ] However, the obtainment of industrial sized cells and PCEs over 20% have been precluded by CNT film inhomogeneities and transfer processes required during fabrication. In the ideal strategy, cues for improvement can be taken from the Al‐BSF cell that uses a solution‐processable ink to coat a single layer, which achieves both highly‐efficient hole‐selectivity and interface defect passivation simultaneously.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Polymer/Carbon‐Nanotube Ink as a Boron‐Dopant/Inorganic‐Passivation Free Carrier Selective Contact for Silicon Solar Cells with over 21% Efficiency

Chen

Wan

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

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Traditional silicon solar cells extract holes and achieve interface passivation with the use of a boron dopant and dielectric thin films such as silicon oxide or hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Without these two key components, few technologies have realized power conversion efficiencies above 20%. Here, a carbon nanotube ink is spin coated directly onto a silicon wafer to serve simultaneously as a hole extraction layer, but also to passivate interfacial defects. This enables a low‐cost fabrication process that is absent of vacuum equipment and high‐temperatures. Power conversion efficiencies of 21.4% on an device area of 4.8 cm2 and 20% on an industrial size (245.71 cm2) wafer are obtained. Additionally, the high quality of this passivated carrier selective contact affords a fill factor of 82%, which is a record for silicon solar cells with dopant‐free contacts. The combination of low‐dimensional materials with an organic passivation is a new strategy to high performance photovoltaics.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Polymer/Carbon‐Nanotube Ink as a Boron‐Dopant/Inorganic‐Passivation Free Carrier Selective Contact for Silicon Solar Cells with over 21% Efficiency

Chen

Wan

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

Self Cite

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“…It was observed that the introduction of few layer black phosphorous improves the charge transfer and decreases the recombination rate, and hence contributes to increased power conversion efficiency. [22] Remarkably, Chen et al [23] have recently observed about 15.2-18.9% efficiency in CNT-Si heterojunction solar cells. Muramotot et al [24] developed a CNT-Si heterojunction solar cell by applying CNT coating on a textured Si substrate, and the resultant cell yielded a power conversion efficiency of 10.4% without the use of antireflective coating.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…[ 22 ] Remarkably, Chen et al. [ 23 ] have recently observed about 15.2–18.9% efficiency in CNT–Si heterojunction solar cells. Muramotot et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solution Processable High Performance Multiwall Carbon Nanotube–Si Heterojunctions

Dwivedi

Dhand

Anderson

et al. 2020

Adv Elect Materials

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Carbon nanotube (CNT)–silicon (Si) heterojunctions show exceptional electrical behavior and hence are promising for electronic and optoelectronic applications. In particular, single wall CNTs (SWCNTs)–Si heterojunctions have been widely studied for these applications. Since multiwall CNTs (MWCNTs) have higher electrical conductivity than SWCNTs, engineering the properties of MWCNTs so as to tailor their electrical properties suitable for heterojunctions can boost the performance of CNT‐based electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here the development of MWCNT‐Si heterostructures is reported, following surface functionalization and silanization to tailor their structure and properties, at room temperature via solution processing. The developed Al/n‐Si/MWCNT/Al heterojunction devices show a low turn‐on voltage (≈1–3 V) and high current (≈0.8 mA at 10 V) exceeding the previous high temperature processed CNT‐based heterojunctions as well as room temperature grown additional amorphous carbon–Si heterojunctions. The carrier transport mechanism within a carrier‐selective contact, multijunction, multiresistance framework, with device current–voltage behavior dictated by transport across the heterojunction and quantum tunneling is discussed. This work opens new direction to design improved devices for future development of large area solution processable CNT based electronics.

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Solution‐Processed Chemically Non‐Destructive Filter Transfer of Carbon‐Nanotube Thin Films onto Arbitrary Materials

Ishizaki

Satoh

Ando

et al. 2021

Adv Materials Inter

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attention based on their unique properties such as flexibility, electrical and thermal conductivities, and enhanced p-type [6,9] and modified n-type [10] semiconductor characters. [2,11,12] In low-temperature solution-processable device technologies, such convenient and low energy-consuming processes have prompted exhaustive wide-field research. [13][14][15] Environmentally friendly aqueous dispersion solutions of single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) are industrially applicable; however, we suffer from dispersant molecules seriously insulating electrical communication on solution-processed SWNT film networks. Rinzler et al. overcame the drawback by a breakthrough filter-transfer method using a mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane. The filtrated ultra-thin SWNT films were transferred onto substrates by the dissolution removal of MCE (Figure 1, Method A). [16] Jin et al. reported that a floating method of a similarly filtrated SWNT thin film apart from MCE, and the as-floated SWNT film was picked up on a substrate (Method B). [17] See-through perovskite (PVK) solar cells have been successfully prepared using top-contact SWNT thin films [18,19] by a dry filter-transfer method using MCE membranes reported by Kauppinen et al. [20] Simply structured crystalline Si-SWNT heterojunction solar cells have been prepared by the solution-processed [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and dry filter-transfer [29][30][31][32] methods with increasing photo-conversion efficiencies up to ≥17%. [25,31,33,34] See-through solar cells are indispensable for state-of-the-art tandem devices combined with crystalline Si solar cells driven by visible and near IR lights. [35,36] The stability of CNTs against chemical corrosion is a fascinating feature as a top-contact electrode on the PVK layers. The high-conductivity p-type semiconductor character of CNTs with the ≈5 eV work function realizes hole-transport layer-free PVK solar cells. [2,[37][38][39] Therefore, the discovery of a convenient solution-processable technology for preparing top-contact thin films of SWNTs using their aqueous dispersion solutions is key to achieving all solution-processed photovoltaic cells that exclude evaporated metal electrodes and expensive p-type organic semiconductors; however, PVK layers are sensitively decomposed by water, some hydrophilic solvents, and some dissolved chemicals. Furthermore, solution-processable p-type doping technologies of SWNT thin films are crucial Filter-transfer methods of single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWNT) thin films have been widely employed to fabricate state-of-the-art electronics and photonics devices with highly transparent and conductive electrodes; however, a challenge remains for all solution-processable technologies to overcome substrates' destruction due to their solvent incompatibility. Here, an advanced method of transferring SWNT thin films onto arbitrary material substrates by adopting chemically stable and flexible polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes is reported. Filtrated SWNT thin films on PTFE membranes (PTFE@SWNTs) pres...

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Front and Back‐Junction Carbon Nanotube‐Silicon Solar Cells with an Industrial Architecture

Cited by 44 publications

References 71 publications

A Polymer/Carbon‐Nanotube Ink as a Boron‐Dopant/Inorganic‐Passivation Free Carrier Selective Contact for Silicon Solar Cells with over 21% Efficiency

A Polymer/Carbon‐Nanotube Ink as a Boron‐Dopant/Inorganic‐Passivation Free Carrier Selective Contact for Silicon Solar Cells with over 21% Efficiency

Solution Processable High Performance Multiwall Carbon Nanotube–Si Heterojunctions

Solution‐Processed Chemically Non‐Destructive Filter Transfer of Carbon‐Nanotube Thin Films onto Arbitrary Materials

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