A review on graphene-silicon Schottky junction interface

Graphene-silicon (Gr-Si) Schottky barrier solar cells (SBSC) have experienced a significant improvement in cells' efficiency from less than 2%-15.6% in a decade. So far, the record efficiency of 15.6% was achieved via a combination of techniques such as interface oxide passivation, chemical doping, anti-reflection coating and et al. In this paper, a particular attention is paid to recently developed techniques to passivate Gr-Si interface, resulting in a significantly reduced interface recombination and hence a better open circuit voltage (V-oc) of the cells. Three methods: 1. dangling bonds termination; 2. insulator layer insertion; 3. hole transport layer insertion, are reported to be able to passivate the Gr-Si interface. We will introduce these three methods and their underlying mechanisms in turn in this paper and, at last, put forward our thoughts on further improving the Gr-Si interface passivation. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.