Enhanced optical properties in inclined GaAs nanowire arrays for high-efficiency solar cells

摘要

The inclined Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) nanowire arrays (NWAs) as light absorbing structures for solar photovoltaics are proposed. The influence of geometric parameters on the optical absorption properties is systematically investigated, and the optimal geometric parameters of the proposed structure are determined by using rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) and the finite element method. It is found that the absorption efficiency of the optimized structure can be improved significantly compared with vertical NWAs and thin film layer structure. The optimized structure yields a photocurrent of 303 rnA/cm(2), which is much higher than that of vertical NWAs and thin film layer with the same geometric configurations. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.