Modeling and characterization of nanowire solar cells

本项目将对一种基于半导体纳米线的新型太阳能电池进行详细的研究，包括计算机模拟和器件表征。目前，光伏市场被划分为两种不同的制度。第一种是采用中等成本、中等效率的平板硅太阳能电池。第二种是在反射和/或折射光学系统中使用非常高成本，非常高效的III-V半导体器件，旨在将大面积的太阳光集中到小面积的有源光伏器件上。每个系统的适用性高度依赖于部署地点的太阳能资源和环境条件。纳米线太阳能电池开发的目的是通过提高第一种情况的效率或降低第二种情况的成本，在两种现有制度之间的设计空间中提供额外的选择。为此，将建立一个计算机模型，用于纳米线太阳能电池的全光电模拟。为了优化设计，需要改变几个关键参数，包括纳米线元件的直径、高度和间距。为了验证和完善这些模拟，制造的纳米线太阳能电池将在紫外到近红外波长区域对其电流电压行为和量子效率进行表征。该项目的结果将为这种类型的太阳能电池建立一个工作计算机模型，该模型将扩展到新材料和更复杂的多结结构，以获得更高性能的设备。

This project will undertake detailed investigation of a new type of solar cell based on semiconductor nanowires, involving both computer simulation and device characterization. Presently, the photovoltaics market is segmented into two disparate regimes. The first utilizes moderate cost, moderate efficiency silicon solar cells in flat panel configurations. The second uses very high cost, very high efficiency III-V semiconductor devices within reflective and/or refractive optical systems designed to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a small area of active photovoltaic device. The suitability of each system is highly dependent upon the solar resource and environmental conditions of the deployment location. The aim of the nanowire solar cell development is to provide additional options in the design space between the two existing regimes, by either improving the efficiency of the first case or reducing the cost of the second case. To that end, a computer model will be established for full optoelectronic simulations of the nanowire solar cell. Several key parameters will be varied to optimize the design, including the diameter, height, and spacing of the nanowire elements. To verify and refine these simulations, manufactured nanowire solar cells will be characterized for their current-voltage behavior and quantum efficiency over the ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelength region. The results from this project will establish a working computer model for this type of solar cell that will be extensible to new materials and more complicated multi-junction structures for higher performance devices.