Modified conical silicon nanowires for highly efficient light trapping

A modified nanocone nanowire (NW) is proposed and analyzed for solar cell applications. The suggested NW consists of conical and truncated conical units. The geometrical parameters are studied by using 3D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method to achieve broadband absorption through the reported design and maximize its ultimate efficiency. The analyzed parameters are absorption spectra, ultimate efficiency and short circuit current density. The numerical results prove that the proposed structure is superior compared to cone, truncated cone and cylindrical nanowires (NWs). The reported design achieves an ultimate efficiency of 44.21% with an enhancement of 40.66% relative to the conventional conical NWs. Further, short circuit current density of 36.17 mA/cm² is achieved by the suggested NW. The modified nanocone has advantages of broadband absorption enhancement, low cost and fabrication feasibility.