Large-Area Free-Standing Ultrathin Single-Crystal Silicon as Processable Materials

Wang, Shuang; Weil, Ben H.; Li, Yanbin; Wang, Ken Xingze; Garnett, Erik C.; Fan, Shanhui; Cui, Yi

doi:10.1021/nl402230v

Cited by 165 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

131

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The 5.70-μm-thick cell suffers from a relatively higher transmission loss as well as a higher surface recombination, which are responsible for an inferior PV performance compared to the thicker cell. Similar results have been reported by Wang et al 1 Figure 6b shows the J−V curves for the devices having a c-Si membrane thickness of 5.70 μm but with different solar cell geometries, namely, a flat surface (in red), a front SiNW-arraytextured surface (in blue), and front SiNW arrays textured with back-surface Ag NPs (in green). The PV performance parameters of all fabricated devices including J SC , V OC , FF, and PCE are summarized in Table 1.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Ultrathin, Flexible Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Silicon Nanowires and PEDOT:PSS

Sharma

Pudasaini

Ruiz-Zepeda

et al. 2014

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, free-standing, ultrathin, single-crystal silicon (c-Si) membranes have attracted considerable attention as a suitable material for low-cost, mechanically flexible electronics. In this paper, we report a promising ultrathin, flexible, hybrid solar cell based on silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The free-standing, ultrathin c-Si membranes of different thicknesses were produced by KOH etching of double-side-polished silicon wafers for various etching times. The processed free-standing silicon membranes were observed to be mechanically flexible, and in spite of their relatively small thickness, the samples tolerated the different steps of solar cell fabrication, including surface nanotexturization, spin-casting, dielectric film deposition, and metallization. However, in terms of the optical performance, ultrathin c-Si membranes suffer from noticeable transmission losses, especially in the long-wavelength region. We describe the experimental performance of a promising light-trapping scheme in the aforementioned ultrathin c-Si membranes of thicknesses as small as 5.7 μm employing front-surface random SiNW texturization in combination with a back-surface distribution of silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs). We report the enhancement of both the short-circuit current density (JSC) and the open-circuit voltage (VOC) that has been achieved in the described devices. Such enhancement is attributable to the plasmonic backscattering effect of the back-surface Ag NPs, which led to an overall 10% increase in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the devices compared to similar structures without Ag NPs. A PCE in excess of 6.62% has been achieved in the described devices having a c-Si membrane of thickness 8.6 μm. The described device technology could prove crucial in achieving an efficient, low-cost, mechanically flexible photovoltaic device in the near future.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Ultrathin, Flexible Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Silicon Nanowires and PEDOT:PSS

Sharma

Pudasaini

Ruiz-Zepeda

et al. 2014

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The optimized structures with an absorbing layer of only 2 μm in thickness can result in significant absorption enhancement close to the Yablonovitch limit ( Figure 4C) [75]. The double-sided nanocone-textured structures were also demonstrated experimentally [74], as shown in Figure 4B. Outstanding light trapping effect was achieved.…”

Section: Enhancement From Dielectric Nanostructuresmentioning

confidence: 68%

Nanophotonics silicon solar cells: status and future challenges

Jia

2015

Nanotechnology Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Light management plays an important role in high-performance solar cells. Nanostructures that could effectively trap light offer great potential in improving the conversion efficiency of solar cells with much reduced material usage. Developing low-cost and large-scale nanostructures integratable with solar cells, thus, promises new solutions for high efficiency and low-cost solar energy harvesting. In this paper, we review the exciting progress in this field, in particular, in the market, dominating silicon solar cells and pointing out challenges and future trends.

show abstract

“…[259][260][261][262][263][264][265][266][267][268][269] Compared with the conventional fabrication process of crystalline Si solar cells these hybrid solar cells could be fabricated at significantly lower costs. Instead of the high-temperature diffusion or expensive implantation process to form a p-n junction, simply a polymer layer was added on top of a n-type Si wafer.…”

Section: Recent Concepts and Pathways To Higher Efficienciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid Photovoltaics – from Fundamentals towards Application

Müller‐Buschbaum

Thelakkat

Fässler

et al. 2017

Advanced Energy Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In hybrid photovoltaics, an organic and an inorganic semiconductor are combined in the active layer, with the advantages of both material classes in a single device. The organic component contributes towards the possibility for wet chemical device preparation with potentially low costs in combination with achieving flexible devices. From the inorganic component an increase in stability, as well as superior opto‐electronic properties, is added. Given the large diversity of organic and inorganic semiconductors, a large number of possible realizations of hybrid solar cells emerge. In the present review, we limit to hybrid solar cells which combine conjugated polymers with inorganic materials such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, silicon, germanium and quantum dots to keep focused. Particular emphasis is put on different routes to tailor nanostructures, such as the use of semiconductor block copolymers. The inorganic component is either synthesized directly in one of the blocks or added as a pre‐synthesized nanomaterial to form the hybrid material. Alternatively, the block copolymer is used as a structure‐directing template in a sol–gel synthesis approach to have tailored inorganic nanostructures, which are back‐filled with the organic component to fabricate the hybrid material. Hybrid solar cells based on crystalline Si are discussed for comparison.

show abstract

Large-Area Free-Standing Ultrathin Single-Crystal Silicon as Processable Materials

Cited by 165 publications

References 31 publications

Ultrathin, Flexible Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Silicon Nanowires and PEDOT:PSS

Ultrathin, Flexible Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Silicon Nanowires and PEDOT:PSS

Nanophotonics silicon solar cells: status and future challenges

Hybrid Photovoltaics – from Fundamentals towards Application

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About