Minority carrier controlled PEC solar cells, using n-Si electrodes modified with LB layers of ultrafine Pt particles

Yae, Shinji; Fujitani, Morio; Nakanishi, Isao; Uetsuji, Masahiro; Tsuda, Ryo; Nakato, Yoshihiro

doi:10.1016/0927-0248(96)00024-4

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The highest V OC obtained for the Pt-deposited porous n-Si electrodes, 0.58 V, is still lower than the V OC for flat-surface n-Si electrodes modified with colloidal Pt particles (0.61−0.63 V) reported previously. , Because the latter value is expected for the ideal, minority-carrier-controlled solar cells, , this implies that the majority-carrier dark saturation current density ( j 0 n ) for the Pt-deposited Figure -type electrode is still not low enough. A possible reason for this is that the nanoporous Si layer may contain Si wires that are thick in the whole region between the bulk Si and Pt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Improvement in Photovoltage and Stability of Porous n-Si Electrodes Coated with Platinum by Regulation of the Thickness of Nanoporous Layers

et al. 1997

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Porous n-Si electrodes, prepared by photoetching in HF under appropriate conditions, have macroporous layers at the surface, consisting of micrometer-sized pores and Si pillars. The wall and top of the Si pillars are further covered with 0.2-0.5-µm-thick nanoporous layers having nanometer-sized pores. The nanoporous layer can be thinned by immersion in HF. The solar cell characteristics (open-circuit photovoltage V OC , fill factor, and stability) for the porous n-Si electrodes with Pt coating in 8.6 M HBr/0.05 M Br 2 were improved by thinning the nanoporous layer to an appropriate thickness, although the electrodes with no nanoporous layers gave only poor characteristics. The maximum solar energy conversion efficiency of 14% (V OC 0.575 V, j SC 34.7 mA‚cm -2 , and fill factor 0.701) was obtained, which is one of the highest for n-Si photoelectrochemical solar cells. A mechanism for the generation of high V OC 's as well as high fill factors in porous Si-based photoelectrochemical solar cells is discussed including a possibility of a low resistivity of the nanoporous layer for hole transport.

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