Title :
Rapid microwave growth of ZnO nanowires for low cost photovoltaics cells using reclaimed silicon substrates
Author :
Yufei Liu ; Blayney, G.J. ; Guy, O.J.
Author_Institution :
Coll. of Eng., Swansea Univ., Swansea, UK
Abstract :
Rapid, microwave-assisted, solution-based growth of ZnO nanowires has been applied for low cost anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) for Photovoltaics (PV) cells. The PV cells are fabricated using reclaimed silicon substrates. The ZnO nanowires were grown on textured silicon substrates, with 800 W microwave power for 2 minutes. A silicon nitride ARC layer was subsequently deposited on top of the ZnO nanowires layer. The rapid grown ZnO nanowires successfully enhanced the solar light capture properties by 1.72%, resulting in an increase of solar cell conversion efficiency of 1.76%.
Keywords :
nanowires; silicon compounds; solar cells; zinc compounds; ZnO; low cost anti-reflective coating; low cost photovoltaics cell; nanowires; power 800 W; rapid microwave growth; reclaimed silicon substrate; silicon nitride ARC layer; solar light capture properties; solution-based growth; textured silicon substrates; Nanowires; Photovoltaic cells; Silicon; Silicon compounds; Substrates; Surface treatment; Zinc oxide; ZnO nanowires; anti-reflection coating; photovoltaics; reclaimed silicon;
Conference_Titel :
Electron Devices and Solid State Circuit (EDSSC), 2012 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Bangkok
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-5694-7
DOI :
10.1109/EDSSC.2012.6482826
