Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T13:04:02.305Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Design and Simulation of the Bifacial III-V-Nanowire-on-Si Solar Cell

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2019

Anastasiia Fedorenko ,
Mohadeseh A. Baboli ,
Parsian K. Mohseni  and
Seth M. Hubbard
Anastasiia Fedorenko
Affiliation:
Microsystems Engineering, NanoPower Research Laboratories, Rochester Institute of Technology, 156 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, New York14623, USA
Mohadeseh A. Baboli
Affiliation:
Microsystems Engineering, NanoPower Research Laboratories, Rochester Institute of Technology, 156 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, New York14623, USA
Parsian K. Mohseni
Affiliation:
Microsystems Engineering, NanoPower Research Laboratories, Rochester Institute of Technology, 156 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, New York14623, USA
Seth M. Hubbard*
Affiliation:
Microsystems Engineering, NanoPower Research Laboratories, Rochester Institute of Technology, 156 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, New York14623, USA
*
*(Email: smhsps@rit.edu)
Get access

Abstract

Rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) simulation was used to model the absorption in periodic arrays of GaAs0.73P0.27 nanowires (NWs) on Si substrates dependent upon the diameter (D), length (L), and spacing (center-to-center distance, or pitch, P) of the NWs. Based on this study, two resonant arrangements for a top NW array sub-cell having the highest limiting short-circuit current densities (Jsc) were found to be close to D = 150 nm, P = 250 nm and D = 300 nm, P = 500 nm, both featuring the same packing density of 0.28. Even though a configuration with thinner NWs exhibited the highest Jsc = 19.46 mA/cm2, the array with D = 350 nm and P = 500 nm provided current matching with the underlying Si sub-cell with Jsc = 18.59 mA/cm2. Addition of a rear-side In0.81Ga0.19As nanowire array with D = 800 nm and P = 1000 nm was found to be suitable for current matching with the front NW sub-cell and middle Si. However, with thinner and sparser In0.81Ga0.19As NWs with D = 700 nm and P = 1000 nm, the Jsc of the bottom sub-cell was increased from 17.35 mA/cm2 to 18.76 mA/cm2 using a planar metallic back surface reflector, thus achieving a current matching with the top and middle cells.

Keywords

nanostructureIII-VSimodelingphotovoltaic
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 4 , Issue 16: Energy-Transfer, Storage and Conversion , 2019 , pp. 929 - 936
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References:

Cariou, R. et al. , “III-V-on-silicon solar cells reaching 33% photoconversion efficiency in two-terminal configuration,” Nat. Energy, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 326–333, 2018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bläsi, B. et al. , “Photonic structures for III-V/Si multijunction solar cells with efficiency >33%,”, Photonics Sol. Energy Syst. VII, vol. 10688, no. June, pp. 1068803-1-106883–11, 2018.Google Scholar
Borgström, M. T. et al. , “Towards Nanowire Tandem Junction Solar Cells on Silicon,” IEEE J. Photovoltaics, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 733–740, 2018.Google Scholar
Lourdudoss, S. et al. , “Trends in heteroepitaxy of III-Vs on silicon for photonic and photovoltaic applications,” in Smart Photonic and Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits XIX, 2017, vol. 10107, no. February 2017, p. 1010705.Google Scholar
Kästner, G. and Gösele, U., “Stress and dislocations at cross-sectional heterojunctions in a cylindrical nanowire,” Philos. Mag., vol. 84, no. 35, pp. 3803–3824, 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anttu, N., “Shockley-queisser detailed balance efficiency limit for nanowire solar cells,” ACS Photonics, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 446–453, 2015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haverkort, J. E. M., Garnett, E. C., and Bakkers, E. P. A. M., “Fundamentals of the nanowire solar cell: Optimization of the open circuit voltage,” Appl. Phys. Rev., vol. 5, no. 3, p. 031106, 2018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adachi, S., “Refractive indices of III-V compounds: Key properties of InGaAsP relevant to device design,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 53, no. 8, pp. 5863–5869, 1982.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. A., Kuyanov, P., Aagesen, M., and LaPierre, R. R., “GaAsP nanowire-on-Si tandem solar cell,” J. Photonics Energy, vol. 7, no. 04, p. 1, 2017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koblmüller, G. and Abstreiter, G., “Growth and properties of InGaAs nanowires on silicon.,” Phys. state solidi - Rapid Res. Lett., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 11–30, 2013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baboli, M. A. et al. , “Improving pseudo-van der Waals epitaxy of self-assembled InAs nanowires on graphene via MOCVD parameter space mapping,” CrystEngComm, no. DOI:10.1039/C8CE01666F, p. DOI:10.1039/C8CE01666F, 2019.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svensson, J., Anttu, N., Vainorius, N., Borg, B. M., and Wernersson, L. E., “Diameter-dependent photocurrent in InAsSb nanowire infrared photodetectors,” Nano Lett., vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1380–1385, 2013.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, H., Liu, X., Wang, L., and Zhang, Z., “Anisotropic optical properties of silicon nanowire arrays based on the effective medium approximation,” Int. J. Therm. Sci., vol. 65, pp. 62–69, 2013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar