Direct integration of a supercapacitor into the backside of a silicon photovoltaic device

We demonstrate a route to integrate active material for energy storage directly into a silicon photovoltaic (PV) device, and the synergistic operation of the PV and storage systems for load leveling. Porous silicon supercapacitors with 84% Coulombic efficiency are etched directly into the excess absorbing layer material in a commercially available polycrystalline silicon PV device and coupled with solid-state polymer electrolytes. Our work demonstrates the simple idea both that the PV device can charge the supercapacitor under an external load and that a constant current load can be maintained through periods of intermittent illumination, demonstrating the concept of an all-silicon integrated solar supercapacitor. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.