Abstract
Graphene, as a two-dimensional carbon material with only one carbon atom thickness, has shown many superior material properties, including high optical transmittance, excellent mechanical flexibility, low resistivity, and high carrier mobility. Theoretically, a Schottky junction can be formed by transferring graphene onto the surface of a moderately doped semiconductor. Thus, graphene is expected to have great potential in the field of photovoltaics. This study aims to fabricate the graphene/silicon nanowires Schottky junction solar cells, with the expectation to enhance the solar cell’s efficiency by combining the excellent antireflection property of silicon nanowires and the advantages of graphene mentioned above. We started at controlling the length of silicon nanowires by changing the etching time, and founded that the silicon nanowires’ length becomes longer with the etching time increased. After fabrication into solar cells, the device made from etching time of 20 minutes showed a maximum efficiency of 1.566%. And then the H2O2 was added into the etching solution to get silicon nanowires of different structures. The results showed that when the etching time was 8 minutes, the solar cell showed a maximum efficiency of 0.937%. In the end of the study, we compared the solar cells fabricated by both etching methods. In general, the devices made from the H2O2-free etching solution exhibited better efficiencies.