Catalysis-Free Growth of III-V Core-Shell Nanowires on p -Si for Efficient Heterojunction Solar Cells with Optimized Window Layer

Sung Bum Kang, Rahul Sharma, Minhyeok Jo, Su In Kim, Jeongwoo Hwang, Sang Hyuk Won, Jae Cheol Shin and Kyoung Jin Choi
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Sung Bum Kang: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
Rahul Sharma: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
Minhyeok Jo: Department of Physics, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea
Su In Kim: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
Jeongwoo Hwang: Korea Photonics Technology Institute, Gwangju 61007, Korea
Sang Hyuk Won: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea
Jae Cheol Shin: Department of Physics, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea
Kyoung Jin Choi: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: The growth of high-quality compound semiconductor materials on silicon substrates has long been studied to overcome the high price of compound semiconductor substrates. In this study, we successfully fabricated nanowire solar cells by utilizing high-quality hetero p-n junctions formed by growing n-type III-V nanowires on p-silicon substrates. The n-InAs 0.75 P 0.25 nanowire array was grown by the Volmer–Weber mechanism, a three-dimensional island growth mode arising from a lattice mismatch between III-V and silicon. For the surface passivation of n-InAs 0.75 P 0.25 core nanowires, a wide bandgap InP shell was formed. The nanowire solar cell was fabricated by benzocyclobutene (BCB) filling, exposure of nanowire tips by reactive-ion etching, electron-beam deposition of ITO window layer, and finally metal grid electrode process. In particular, the ITO window layer plays a key role in reducing light reflection as well as electrically connecting nanowires that are electrically separated from each other. The deposition angle was adjusted for conformal coating of ITO on the nanowire surface, and as a result, the lowest light reflectance and excellent electrical connectivity between the nanowires were confirmed at an oblique deposition angle of 40°. The solar cell based on the heterojunction between the n-InAs 0.75 P 0.25 /InP core-shell nanowire and p -Si exhibited a very high photoelectric conversion efficiency of 9.19% with a current density of 27.10 mA/cm 2 , an open-circuit voltage of 484 mV, and a fill factor of 70.1%.

Keywords: heteroepitaxial growth; III-V; core-shell nanowire; indium tin oxide; oblique angle deposition; photo conversion efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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