A Si Nanowire Photovoltaic Device Prepared by Selective Electroless Etching

This study reports the preparation of Si nanowires (SiNWs) by selective electroless etching and fabrication of photovoltaic (PV) cells. It was found that the SiNWs with 3 μm average length and 100 nm average diameter were formed only in the areas not covered by the Cr electrodes. It was also found that average reflectance in the 400-1000 nm wavelength range reduced from 35% to around 2% with the SiNWs. Furthermore, it was found that we could enhance the short-circuit current density of the PV cells from 11.5 to 21.8 mA/cm 2 and enhance conversion efficiency of the PV cells from 4.62% to 8.15% using the selective electroless etching.