Effect of internal surface area on the performance of ZnO/In2S3/CuSCN solar cells with extremely thin absorber

Solar cells with an extremely thin light absorber were realized by wet chemical preparation on arrays of ZnO nanorods. The absorber consisted of an In(2)S(3) layer (similar to 20 nm thickness) and its interface region with a transparent CuSCN hole conductor. By changing the length of the nanorods (0-3.3 mu m) and keeping the In(2)S(3) layer thickness constant at similar to 20 nm, the short circuit current increased from about 2-10 mA/cm(2). A marked increase of the external quantum efficiency at longer wavelengths is attributed to light scattering and a solar energy conversion efficiency of 2.5% has been demonstrated. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.