Enhanced efficiency of silicon micro-pyramids/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate/gold nanoparticles hybrid solar cells

The hybrid solar cells have been receiving great attention as a promising candidate for the next generation of energy-harvesting devices. In this study, we present some results on the fabrication and characterization of ntype silicon micro-pyramid (SiMPs)/poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) hybrid solar cells. SiMPs were prepared by a chemical etching method and their influence on the performance of the hybrid solar cells was investigated. The obtained results showed that the micro-pyramidal structures could provide an adequate generation of charge carriers by relatively low reflectance. The hybrid solar cell using SiMPs showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) to be 5.24% which improves about 40% compared to that of the planar Si solar cell (3.68%). Besides, the effect of AuNP concentrations on the performance of the hybrid solar cell was also investigated. The maximum PCE was measured to be 7.55% with a device containing 0.5 wt% AuNP concentration, which is 44% higher compared to that of the solar cells without AuNPs. The enhancement is attributed to the increase in electrical conductivity and localized surface plasmon resonance of the PEDOT:PSS coating layer due to the addition of the AuNPs.

Automated summary

This study investigated the fabrication and performance of hybrid solar cells using n-type silicon micro-pyramids and AuNPs. Results showed that the introduction of SiMPs and AuNPs significantly increased the power conversion efficiency of the solar cells, attributed to enhanced electrical conductivity and localized surface plasmon resonance of the PEDOT:PSS coating layer.