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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nanotechnol.
Sec. Environmental Nanotechnology
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnano.2024.1456915
This article is part of the Research Topic Nanotechnology for Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy: Advances in Renewable Energies, Agriculture, and Bioplastic applications View all articles

Optimal Performance of Silicon Nanowire Solar Cells Under Low Sunlight Concentration and Integration as Bottom Cells in III-V Multijunction Systems

Provisionally accepted
Bernice Mae Yu Jeco-Espaldon Bernice Mae Yu Jeco-Espaldon 1*Wipakorn Jevasuwan Wipakorn Jevasuwan 1Yoshitaka Okada Yoshitaka Okada 2Naoki Fukata Naoki Fukata 1
  • 1 International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), Tsukuba, Japan
  • 2 Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    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. When 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 multijunction solar cell applications. The results suggest that a III-V upper subcell with a smaller active area than the SiNW is optimal for current production, which is favorable to 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 improve this reduction to as much as 64.5% are discussed to conclude this paper.

    Keywords: Laser beam induced current, multijunction solar cell, Nanofabrication, solar cell characterization, Si nanowire (SiNW), III-V /Si solar cells

    Received: 29 Jun 2024; Accepted: 18 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yu Jeco-Espaldon, Jevasuwan, Okada and Fukata. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Bernice Mae Yu Jeco-Espaldon, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), Tsukuba, Japan

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