Abstract
Silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays were prepared on silicon substrates by metal-assisted chemical etching and peeled from the substrates, and their optical properties were measured. The absorption coefficient of the SiNW arrays was higher than that for the bulk silicon over the entire region. The absorption coefficient of a SiNW array composed of 10-μm-long nanowires was much higher than the theoretical absorptance of a 10-μm-thick flat Si wafer, suggesting that SiNW arrays exhibit strong optical confinement. To reveal the reason for this strong optical confinement demonstrated by SiNW arrays, angular distribution functions of their transmittance were experimentally determined. The results suggest that Mie-related scattering plays a significant role in the strong optical confinement of SiNW arrays.
Highlights
Silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays demonstrate considerable promise as an absorber layer for solar cells because of their advantages such as quantum size effect [1] and strong optical confinement [2,3,4,5,6]
The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image indicates that the SiNW/PDMS layer has sufficient mechanical strength to allow the SiNW array to be successfully peeled from the silicon substrate
We succeeded in measuring the key optical properties of SiNW arrays that were prepared with metal-assisted chemical etching and separated from the substrates by peeling
Summary
Silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays demonstrate considerable promise as an absorber layer for solar cells because of their advantages such as quantum size effect [1] and strong optical confinement [2,3,4,5,6]. SiNW solar cells have been extensively investigated for the utilization of their optical confinement [14,15,16] properties. Aligned SiNW arrays exhibit low reflection and strong absorption [5] and can be used in antireflection coatings or as the active layer in solar cells [17,18]. The optical properties of vertically aligned SiNW transmittance of SiNW arrays composed of SiNWs of different lengths.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
