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Semiconductor Nanowires for Solar Cells

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Book cover Semiconductor Nanostructures for Optoelectronic Devices

Part of the book series: NanoScience and Technology ((NANO))

Abstract

This chapter discusses studies of semiconducting nanowire arrays for solar cells. The concept of 3D nanowire architectures for photovoltaic light harvesting to effectively decouple light absorption and carrier separation is presented. The available literature on semiconductor nanowire solar cell studies is summarized. Optical and electronic aspects specific to nanowires are discussed to illustrate the basic principles. Finally, issues related to integration for solar cell applications are highlighted.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The cell described in Yoon et al. [36] and listed as 8.7% efficient in Table 11.1has a significant photovoltaic contribution from the substrate.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded in part by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory and by the Department of Energy EERE (EB2102010) Work was performed in part at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, user facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (Contract DE-AC52–06NA25396).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

    S. T. Picraux, J. Yoo, I. H. Campbell, S. A. Dayeh & D. E. Perea

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  1. S. T. Picraux
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  2. J. Yoo
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  3. I. H. Campbell
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Correspondence to S. T. Picraux .

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  1. , Dept. Physics, Seoul National University, Gwanak-ro 599, Seoul, 151-747, Korea, Republic of (South Korea)

    Gyu-Chul Yi

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Picraux, S.T., Yoo, J., Campbell, I.H., Dayeh, S.A., Perea, D.E. (2012). Semiconductor Nanowires for Solar Cells. In: Yi, GC. (eds) Semiconductor Nanostructures for Optoelectronic Devices. NanoScience and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22480-5_11

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