title: Graphene as a transparent conducting and surface field layer in planar Si solar cells.
abstract: This work presents an experimental and finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation-based study on the application of graphene as a transparent conducting layer on a planar and untextured crystalline p-n silicon solar cell. A high-quality monolayer graphene with 97% transparency and 350 Ω/□ sheet resistance grown by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition method was transferred onto planar Si cells. An increase in efficiency from 5.38% to 7.85% was observed upon deposition of graphene onto Si cells, which further increases to 8.94% upon SiO2 deposition onto the graphene/Si structure. A large increase in photon conversion efficiency as a result of graphene deposition shows that the electronic interaction and the presence of an electric field at the graphene/Si interface together play an important role in this improvement and additionally lead to a reduction in series resistance due to the conducting nature of graphene.
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India.
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India.
authors.forename: Bodh R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India.
authors.forename: Mehar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.affiliation: Semiconductor Devices and Photovoltaics Department, Electronics Division, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Mysore Road, Bangalore 560026, India.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: S
authors.affiliation: Semiconductor Devices and Photovoltaics Department, Electronics Division, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Mysore Road, Bangalore 560026, India.
authors.forename: Silika
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahapatra
authors.affiliation: Semiconductor Devices and Photovoltaics Department, Electronics Division, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Mysore Road, Bangalore 560026, India.
authors.forename: Saji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salkalachen
authors.affiliation: Semiconductor Devices and Photovoltaics Department, Electronics Division, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Mysore Road, Bangalore 560026, India.
authors.forename: Pratha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jhawar
keywords: FDTD simulation; Front surface field; Graphene; Solar cells
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