The optoelectronic properties of developed p–n junction on the textured silicon surface for improving the solar cell performance

Abstract

Here, we report the development of the solar cell with a hybrid p-n junction based on poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) deposited on the textured Si surface. Texturing was accomplished by a laser processing technique, allowing the formation of nanopyramids on the Si surface, leading to ultralow reflectance. The PEDOT:PSS solution was deposited on the textured Si-wafer via a spin-coating technique. The evaluation of the I–V characteristics under illumination demonstrated an improvement of the short-circuit current density of the PEDOT:PSS/textured nanopyramid Si-substrate by 61% compared to that of the device based on the planar Si-substrate. The effect of the nanopyramid aspect ratio (height/diameter) of the textured Si-substrate on the optical absorption and reflection was studied to determine the optimum aspect ratio to achieve the maximum rate of the light entrapment. It was demonstrated that the increase of the aspect ratio leads to an enhancement of the short-circuit current and the filling factor. The hybrid device developed shows a promise for future applications in photovoltaic solar cell devices.