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Characteristics of silicon nanocrystals for photovoltaic applications
Author(s) -
Moore D.,
Krishnamurthy S.,
Chao Y.,
Wang Q.,
Brabazon D.,
McNally P. J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201000381
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocrystalline material , nanocrystalline silicon , amorphous silicon , solar cell , silicon , nanocrystal , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , amorphous solid , band gap , crystallite , absorption (acoustics) , photovoltaic system , etching (microfabrication) , layer (electronics) , crystalline silicon , chemistry , composite material , metallurgy , crystallography , ecology , biology
Over the last decade the progress in amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon (nc‐Si) for photovoltaic applications received significant interest in science and technology. Advances in the understanding of these novel materials and their properties are growing rapidly. In order to realise nc‐Si in the solar cell, a thicker intrinsic layer is required. Due to the indirect band gap in the crystallites, the absorption coefficients of nc‐Si are much lower. In this work we have used electrochemical etching techniques to produce silicon nanocrystals of the sizes 3–5 nm. Viable drop cast deposition of Si nanocrystals to increase the thickness without compromising the material properties was investigated by atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy, photoemission spectroscopy and optical absorption methods.