Effective piezo-phototronic enhancement of solar cell performance by tuning material properties

Piezo-phototronic effect is demonstrated in the ZnO/P3HT solar cell system and detailed study is conducted regarding the influence of crystallization and doping level of ZnO on the strength of piezo-phototronic effect as well as the overall solar cell performance. By testing and comparing five groups of samples prepared under different conditions, optimized parameters are determined for the most efficient piezo-phototronic enhancement of solar cell performance. The general principles and regularities provided in this study are universal and applicable to all solar cell systems involving piezoelectric semiconductor materials and could provide substantial guidance on further increasing performances of commercial solar cells based on CdTe, GaAs etc. and also spur the development of flexible solar cells for smart applications in various situations. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.