Nanowire array photovoltaics: Radial disorder versus design for optimal efficiency

Björn C P Sturmberg; Kokou B. Dossou; Lindsay C. Botten; Ara A. Asatryan; Christopher G. Poulton; Ross C. McPhedran; C. Martijn De Sterke

doi:10.1063/1.4761957

Nanowire array photovoltaics: Radial disorder versus design for optimal efficiency

Björn C P Sturmberg^*, Kokou B. Dossou, Lindsay C. Botten, Ara A. Asatryan, Christopher G. Poulton, Ross C. McPhedran, C. Martijn De Sterke

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Solar cell designs based on disordered nanostructures tend to have higher efficiencies than structures with uniform absorbers, though the reason is poorly understood. To resolve this, we use a semi-analytic approach to determine the physical mechanism leading to enhanced efficiency in arrays containing nanowires with a variety of radii. We use our findings to systematically design arrays that outperform randomly composed structures. An ultimate efficiency of 23.75 is achieved with an array containing 30 silicon, an increase of almost 10 over a homogeneous film of equal thickness.

Original language	English
Article number	173902
Pages (from-to)	173902-1-173902-4
Number of pages	4
Journal	Applied Physics Letters
Volume	101
Issue number	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4761957
Publication status	Published - 22 Oct 2012
Externally published	Yes

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10.1063/1.4761957

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abstract = "Solar cell designs based on disordered nanostructures tend to have higher efficiencies than structures with uniform absorbers, though the reason is poorly understood. To resolve this, we use a semi-analytic approach to determine the physical mechanism leading to enhanced efficiency in arrays containing nanowires with a variety of radii. We use our findings to systematically design arrays that outperform randomly composed structures. An ultimate efficiency of 23.75 is achieved with an array containing 30 silicon, an increase of almost 10 over a homogeneous film of equal thickness.",

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AU - Sturmberg, Björn C P

AU - Dossou, Kokou B.

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AU - Asatryan, Ara A.

AU - Poulton, Christopher G.

AU - McPhedran, Ross C.

AU - Martijn De Sterke, C.

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Nanowire array photovoltaics: Radial disorder versus design for optimal efficiency

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