Silicon nanowire solar cells with a-Si heterojunction showing 7.3% efficiency

Core-shell silicon nanowire (SiNW) solar cells with an a-Si heterojunction were prepared on SiNW arrays, which were etched into n-type silicon wafers or into n-doped multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass substrates. A stack of intrinsic and p-doped hydrogenated a-Si was deposited as a shell around the SiNWs by PECVD, acting as a heteroemitter of the solar cells. Finally a TCO layer consisting of aluminum doped zinc oxide was deposited on top of the a-Si by atomic layer deposition. In a mesa-structured solar cell (area 7 mm2) an open circuit voltage of 476 mV and an efficiency of 7.3% were achieved under AM 1.5 illumination. Electron beam induced current measurements show clear evidence that most of the photo-current comes from the thin SiNW layer.