Simulation and Optimization of Single Silicon Nanowire Solar Cell with Radial Junctions
Abstract
In recent years, both solar cell research and nanowire research have become popular topics in design and fabrication of semiconductor devices. The need for higher solar cell efficiencies at lower cost has been the main concern of scientists and engineers. Nanowire solar cell is one candidate for decreasing the cost of solar cell fabrication. The nanowire geometry has many advantages over planar bulk and thin-film solar cells in processes of photoconversion. They reduce the quantity and quality of material necessary to obtain the limits, which leads to lower cost. In addition, complex single-crystalline nanowires are able to be fabricated directly on low-cost substrates and electrodes. In this work, we simulate single vertical nanowire solar cell made from silicon with radial junction, in order to examine the influence of the different parameters of the cell structure on efficiency. Length and diameter of the cell, thicknesses of regions, dopant type and concentration are these parameters. The simulations enable one to find the optimized structure and predict the fabrication process.
Keywords
Nanowire solar cell, Core-shell nanowire, Radial junction, N-p structure, N-i-p structure.