Silicon quantum dot nanostructures for tandem photovoltaic cells

• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2007.12.096
• Publication Date: 2007-12-18T19:34:10Z
• Authors: Gavin Conibeer; Martin Green; Eun-Chel Cho; Dirk König; Young-Hyun Cho; Thipwan Fangsuwan...; Giuseppe Scardera; Edwin Pink; Yidan Huang; Tom Puzzer; Shujuan Huang; Dengyuan Song; Chris Flynn; Sangwook Park; Xiaojing Hao; Daniel Mansfield
• Keywords: Tandem

Abstract Tandem PV cells – with their increased efficiency due to a multi-band gap approach – usually involve expensive materials and fabrication. Thin film approaches, with an engineered variation in band gap through the use of quantum confinement in Si quantum dots, offer a cheaper alternative. Presented are characterisation and modelling data on fabrication of such Si and Sn QD nanostructures in various dielectric matrices by self-organised thin film deposition, with demonstrated confined energy levels of 1.7 eV for 2 nm diameter QDs. This being the optimum energy for an upper tandem cell element.