High Performance Organic-Nanostructured Silicon Hybrid Solar Cell with Modified Surface Structure

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are promising for photovoltaics due to light trapping.
• High surface defect density in SiNWs leads to carrier recombination, limiting efficiency.
• Effective surface passivation is crucial for enhancing SiNW-based device performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reduce surface defects and recombination rates in SiNWs.
• To improve the performance of SiNW-based photovoltaic devices.
• To investigate the impact of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) treatment on SiNW surface morphology and device characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A simple solution process using tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) for SiNW surface modification.
• Characterization of SiNW surface structure before and after TMAH treatment.
• Fabrication and performance evaluation of nanostructured Si/PEDOT:PSS hybrid devices.

Main Results:

• TMAH treatment resulted in a smooth and tapered SiNW surface morphology.
• The treatment significantly improved the open-circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF) of the devices.
• A champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.08% was achieved for devices with 60-s TMAH treatment.

Conclusions:

• TMAH treatment is an effective method for passivating surface defects in SiNWs.
• Surface modification via TMAH treatment enhances the performance of SiNW-based photovoltaic devices.
• This approach offers a simple and scalable route for improving solar cell efficiency.