Quantum dot solar cells are based on the concept of harvesting different parts of the solar light spectrum with a single, cheap semiconductor by simply changing the size of the nanoparticles. Of the many compositions explored, germanium is one of the most interesting as it has the major advantage of a large Bohr radius, which allows for the fabrication of larger particles. Moreover, germaniums possess very high optical absorption, and a small band gap give it free parameters to optimize the quantum dot solar cell. In a previous work, the germanium quantum dots were used in a Gratzel type solar cell containing an electrolyte, which is not desirable for applications. In this work instead, the n-doped germanium quantum dots were combined with a p-doped a-Si layer, making it the first all solid-state solar cell made from nanoparticles from a gas aggregation nanoparticle source. Remarkably, the effect of quantum confinement in both the germanium quantum dot assembled layer and a-Si was observed by peaks in the spectral response experiments. This work forms an important step toward realizing a germanium quantum dot based solar cell and studying quantum dot based solids.
Quantum Confinement in the Spectral Response of n-Doped Germanium Quantum Dots Embedded in an Amorphous Si Layer for Quantum Dot-Based Solar Cells / J. Parravicini, F. Di Trapani, M.D. Nelson, Z.T. Rex, R.D. Beiter, T. Catelani, M. Acciarri, A. Podesta', C. Lenardi, S.O. Binetti, M. Di Vece. - In: ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS. - ISSN 2574-0970. - 3:3(2020 Mar), pp. 2813-2821.
Titolo: | Quantum Confinement in the Spectral Response of n-Doped Germanium Quantum Dots Embedded in an Amorphous Si Layer for Quantum Dot-Based Solar Cells |
Autori: | DI VECE, MARCEL (Corresponding) |
Parole Chiave: | germanium; Quantum Dot; solar cell; a-Si; quantum confinement; spectral response; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; atomic force microscopy |
Settore Scientifico Disciplinare: | Settore FIS/01 - Fisica Sperimentale Settore FIS/03 - Fisica della Materia |
Data di pubblicazione: | mar-2020 |
Rivista: | |
Tipologia: | Article (author) |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.0c00125 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 01 - Articolo su periodico |