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Nanostructured silicon solar cells are designed to minimize costs through reduced material usage while enhancing power conversion efficiency via superior light trapping and shorter charge separation distances compared to traditional planar cells. This study identifies the optimal conditions for nanoimprinted silicon nanowire (SiNW) solar cells to achieve maximum efficiency under low sunlight concentration and evaluates their performance as bottom cells in III–V multijunction solar cell systems. The findings indicate that the SiNW solar cell reaches its peak performance at a concentration factor of 7.5 suns and a temperature of 40°C or lower. Specifically, the absolute conversion efficiency under these conditions is 1.05% higher than that under unconcentrated light. Compared to a planar silicon solar cell under identical conditions, the SiNW solar cell exhibits a 3.75% increase in conversion efficiency. Additionally, the SiNW single-junction solar cell, when integrated in series with a commercial lattice-matched InGaP/GaAs dual-junction solar cell, was tested under unconcentrated sunlight, specifically at one-sun, global air mass 1.5 condition, to assess its viability in one-sun multi-junction solar cell applications. The results suggest that a III–V upper subcell with a smaller active area than that of the SiNW subcell is optimal for maximizing current production, which is favorable to the cost reduction of the device. This hybrid configuration is particularly advantageous for terrestrial applications, such as electric vehicles, which demand lightweight, high-performance multijunction solar cell devices. Although the weight reduction of the characterized SiNW solar cell with a full silicon substrate compared to its planar solar cell counterpart is 1.8%, recommendations to increase this reduction to as much as 64.5% are discussed to conclude this paper.

Rights:

• Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 International
  

Keyword: laser beam-induced current, multijunction solar cell, nanofabrication, solar cell characterization, silicon nanowire, III–V/silicon solar cells

Date published: 2024-10-02

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Journal:

• Frontiers in Nanotechnology (ISSN: 26733013) vol. 6 1456915

Funding:

• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 20K21135
• New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization 2000942-0
• Department of Science and Technology, Philippines

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnano.2024.1456915

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Updated at: 2024-12-11 16:30:47 +0900

Published on MDR: 2024-12-11 16:30:47 +0900