Influence of nanowires length on performance of crystalline silicon solar cell

Silicon-nanowire (Si-NW) array, prepared by an electroless chemical-etching method, shows excellent optical antireflection property over a wide spectral bandwidth. The influence of the wire length on the optical antireflection property and the solar cell performance were studied for both the Si-NW array solar cells and the planar solar cells. The reflectance of NWs solar cells is almost invariable and much lower than that of the planar solar cells but the performance of planar solar cells is the best. Results show the performance of NWs solar cells is strongly affected by some other factors such as surface passivation and electrode-contact property. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3574904]