Considerably improved photovoltaic performance of carbon nanotube-based solar cells using metal oxide layers

Abstract

Carbon nanotube-based solar cells have been extensively studied from the perspective of potential application. Here we demonstrated a significant improvement of the carbon nanotube solar cells by the use of metal oxide layers for efficient carrier transport. The metal oxides also serve as an antireflection layer and an efficient carrier dopant, leading to a reduction in the loss of the incident solar light and an increase in the photocurrent, respectively. As a consequence, the photovoltaic performance of both p-single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)/n-Si and n-SWNT/p-Si heterojunction solar cells using MoO x and ZnO layers is improved, resulting in very high photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of 17.0 and 4.0%, respectively. These findings regarding the use of metal oxides as multifunctional layers suggest that metal oxide layers could improve the performance of various electronic devices based on carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes for organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells

“…Such high efficiency has been achieved by coating a TiO 2 antireflection layer and doping CNTs with oxidative chemicals under AM 1.5 illumination. By using metal oxides as antireflection layer, further increased the photocurrent and solar cell efficiency up to 17% [19] in p-SWNT)/n-Si and n-SWNT/p-Si heterojunction solar cells using MoO x and ZnO.…”

“…Hybrid solar cells were fabricated by depositing intrinsic p-type SWNT thin-films on n-type Si wafers without involving any high-temperature process for p−n junction formation. The hybrid solar cells showed a high power-conversion-efficiency of 17% [19].…”

Implementation of antireflection layers for improved efficiency of carbon nanotube–silicon heterojunction solar cells

“…Some of the best Si-CNT solar cells to date have a PCE of 15 %, using a titanium dioxide antireflection layer and doping of the CNT film with oxidative chemicals (HNO 3 and H 2 O 2 ) [17]. More recent work has reported has reported efficiencies of 17 % [18]. It is worth noting that this was achieved with a much smaller active area than is common in the field and as such, the work by Shi is likely a better efficiency benchmark.…”

The effect of dry shear aligning of nanotube thin films on the photovoltaic performance of carbon nanotube–silicon solar cells

“…Carbon nanotube–silicon heterojunctions can also function as solar cells [13–14] and over the last few years of development the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of these devices has been steadily increasing [15–22], with the most recent high efficiency record by Wang et al now standing at ≈17% [23]. The understanding of precisely how these junctions operate is still incomplete and although progress in this respect is ongoing [24–41], there are still many questions unanswered.…”