Abstract
Currently the efficiency-to-cost ratio among the diverse photovoltaic techniques remains too low to compete with fossil energy. To boost this ratio, it is critical to enhance the conversion efficiency (CE) or to lower the cost of solar cells (SCs). Therefore, in this study we employ a series of wet and room-temperature electrochemical processes to fabricate low-cost Si nanohole-based solar cells (SiNH-based SCs). The SiNH-based SCs demonstrate excellent antireflective properties, resulting in a leading CE of 10.03% with a low cost in the field of Si-nanostructured SCs. In addition, these SiNH-based SCs possess additional advantages of robust structures and greater fill factor, and can be readily employed for practical photovoltaic applications. © 2011 The Electrochemical Society.