Titania–germanium nanocomposite as a photovoltaic material

Titania–germanium (TiO2–Ge) nanocomposite, which comprises Ge nanodots in the TiO2 matrix, is an interesting optoelectronic material. We can easily tailor the structural, optical and electronic properties of the nanocomposite thin films in a wide range by customizing the density and size of Ge dots. The promising properties encouraged us to fabricate solar cells with TiO2–Ge nanocomposites. We fabricated p-Si/TiO2–Ge heterojunction solar cells. The preliminary characterizations of these devices show us the promise of TiO2– Ge nanocomposites for the photovoltaic application. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved