Atomic layer deposited ZnO:Al for nanostructured silicon heterojunction solar cells

A miniaturised autonomous sensor based on nanowire materials platform: the SiNAPS mote

“…Our solar cells prepared in this way reached an open circuit voltage of 517 mV, a short circuit current of 26.5 mA/cm², and an efficiency of 10.0% [10,11]. These results position the SiNAPS core-shell nanowire solar cells at the leading edge of this technology.…”

“…For contacting the structure, the space between the nanowires is filled with a transparent conductive oxide. We use aluminum doped ZnO deposited by ALD [11]. The complete solar cell structure is shown in the TEM cross section of Figure 2.…”

“…The nanowires act as a light trapping structure to increase the light absorption in the solar cell, and at the same time they are the photovoltaically active material. Efficiencies competitive within generation II PV technologies have been obtained from materials based on the radial core/shell nanoarchitecture of Si nanowires (SiNWs) [9][10][11][12][13].…”

Dual-wavelength electroluminescence from an n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction light emitting diode

“…Zinc oxide (ZnO) material was expected to be brighter than the gallium nitride (GaN) material for short-wavelength optoelectronic applications due to its excellent physical and chemical properties with a large exciton binding energy of 60 meV at room temperature, the ability to resist the radiation damage, and the possibility of using wet-etching processes [1][2][3][4]. Another advantage of ZnO over GaN is that the technologies required for depositing a crystalline ZnO film, such as sputtering, pulse laser deposition (PLD), and the hydrothermal method, are relatively easy and cost-effective.…”

Aluminum doped zinc oxide wide band-gap n-type optical window for μc-Si superstrate solar cell

“…The basic factor that affects the efficiency of a solar cell is the reflection of light from its front surface, that is why it is impossible to produce efficient solar cells without any antireflective coating [8,9]. In addition, the trend towards thinner and more efficient silicon solar cells and in order to reduce the cost of PV modules, a new cell device structure is now considered using a heterojunction where the layer at the front surface of the homo-junction is replaced by a thin layer whose excellent optical properties result in a superior light trapping [10,11].…”