A GaAs Nanowire Array Solar Cell with 15.3 Efficiency at 1 Sun

摘要

A GaAs nanowire array solar cell with an independently verified solar energy conversion efficiency of 15.3% and open circuit voltage of 0.906 V under AM1.5g solar illumination at 1 sun intensity has been fabricated by Sol Voltaics AB, which is the highest published efficiency for nanowire array solar cells, and twice the prior record for GaAs nanowire array solar cells. The solar cell has been fabricated by substrate-based epitaxy but is structurally compatible with substrate-less aerotaxy fabrication, providing a path to high volume manufacturing. The short circuit current of 21.3 mA/cm~2 was generated in axial pn-junction GaAs cores covering 13% of the surface area, a volume of GaAs equivalent to a 370 nm thick planar layer.