title: Enhancing the Efficiency of Silicon-Based Solar Cells by the Piezo-Phototronic Effect.
abstract: Although there are numerous approaches for fabricating solar cells, the silicon-based photovoltaics are still the most widely used in industry and around the world. A small increase in the efficiency of silicon-based solar cells has a huge economic impact and practical importance. We fabricate a silicon-based nanoheterostructure (p+-Si/p-Si/n+-Si (and n-Si)/n-ZnO nanowire (NW) array) photovoltaic device and demonstrate the enhanced device performance through significantly enhanced light absorption by NW array and effective charge carrier separation by the piezo-phototronic effect. The strain-induced piezoelectric polarization charges created at n-doped Si-ZnO interfaces can effectively modulate the corresponding band structure and electron gas trapped in the n+-Si/n-ZnO NW nanoheterostructure and thus enhance the transport process of local charge carriers. The efficiency of the solar cell was improved from 8.97% to 9.51% by simply applying a static compress strain. This study indicates that the piezo-phototronic effect can enhance the performance of a large-scale silicon-based solar cell, with great potential for industrial applications.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Laipan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Longfei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Caofeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Baodong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Leijing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) , Beijing 100083, China.|School of Material Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
authors.forename: Zhong Lin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5530-0380
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: ZnO nanowire array; light absorption; piezo-phototronic effect; piezopotential; silicon-based solar cell