Heterojunction Hybrid Solar Cells by Formation of Conformal Contacts between PEDOT:PSS and Periodic Silicon Nanopyramid Arrays

Surface nanotexturing with excellent light-trapping property is expected to significantly increase the conversion efficiency of solar cells. However, limited by the serious surface recombination arising from the greatly enlarged surface area, the silicon (Si) nanotexturing-based solar cells cannot yet achieve satisfactory high efficiency, which is more prominent in organic/Si hybrid solar cells (HSCs) where a uniform polymer layer can rarely be conformably coated on nanotextured substrate. Here, the HSCs featuring advanced surface texture of periodic upright nanopyramid (UNP) arrays and hole-conductive conjugated polymers, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), are investigated. The tetramethylammonium hydroxide etching is used to smooth the surface morphologies of the Si-UNPs, leading to reduced surface defect states. The uniform Si-UNPs together with silane chemical-incorporated PEDOT:PSS solution enable the simultaneous realization of excellent broadband light absorption as well as enhanced electrical contact between the textured Si and the conducting polymer. The resulting PEDOT:PSS/Si HSCs textured with UNP arrays show a promising power conversion efficiency of 13.8%, significantly higher than 12.1% of the cells based on the-state-of-the-art surface texture with random pyramids. These results provide a viable route toward shape-controlled nanotexturing-based high-performance organic/Si HSCs.