Carbon nanotube–amorphous silicon hybrid solar cell with improved conversion efficiency. (23rd March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Funde, Adinath M; Nasibulin, Albert G; Syed, Hashmi Gufran; Anisimov, Anton S; Tsapenko, Alexey; Lund, Peter; Santos, J D; Torres, I; Gandía, J J; Cárabe, J; Rozenberg, A D; Levitsky, Igor A
• Is Part Of: Nanotechnology. Volume 27:Number 18(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-03-23
• Subjects: carbon nanotube -- heterojunction solar cell -- carbon nanotube—silicon heterojunction; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology; Publications périodiques; Nanotechnologies; Periodicals; 620.5
• DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/27/18/185401
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0957-4484

Abstract

Abstract: We report a hybrid solar cell based on single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) interfaced with amorphous silicon (a-Si). The high quality carbon nanotube network was dry transferred onto intrinsic a-Si forming Schottky junction for metallic SWNT bundles and heterojunctions for semiconducting SWNT bundles. The nanotube chemical doping and a-Si surface treatment minimized the hysteresis effect in current–voltage characteristics allowing an increase in the conversion efficiency to 1.5% under an air mass 1.5 solar spectrum simulator. We demonstrated that the thin SWNT film is able to replace a simultaneously p-doped a-Si layer and transparent conductive electrode in conventional amorphous silicon thin film photovoltaics.