Silicon Substrate Treated with Diluted NaOH Aqueous for Si/PEDOT: PSS Heterojunction Solar Cell with Performance Enhancement

• Main Authors: Tao Chen, Hao Guo, Leiming Yu, Tao Sun, Yu Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: Si/PEDOT: PSS solar cell; NaOH aqueous; surface modification; optical-electro characteristics; short-circuit current
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/18/4659

Si/PEDOT: PSS solar cell is an important alternative for photovoltaic device due to its anticipated high theoretical efficiency and simple manufacturing process. In this study, processing silicon substrate with diluted NaOH aqueous solution was found to be an effective method for improving device performance, one that notably improves junction quality and light trapping ability. When immersed in diluted NaOH aqueous solution, the junction quality was improved according to the enlarged fill factor, reduced series resistance, and enhanced minor carrier lifetime. The diluted NaOH aqueous solution immersion etched the silicon surface and helped with the enhancement of light trapping ability, further improving the short-circuit current density. Although diluted NaOH aqueous solution immersion for bare silicon could improve the performance of devices, proper immersion time was needed. The influence of immersion time on device performances was investigated. The photovoltaic conversion efficiency easily increased from 10.01% to 12.05% when silicon substrate was immersed in diluted NaOH aqueous for 15 min. This study contributes to providing efficient and convenient methods for preparing high performance Si/PEDOT: PSS solar cells.