1. Effects of formation of mini-bands in two-dimensional array of silicon nanodisks with SiC interlayer for quantum dot solar cells.
- Author
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Igarashi, Makoto, Budiman, Mohd Fairuz, Pan, Wugen, Hu, Weiguo, Tamura, Yosuke, Syazwan, Mohd Erman, Usami, Noritaka, and Samukawa, Seiji
- Subjects
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SOLAR cells , *QUANTUM dot devices , *SILICON , *NANOTECHNOLOGY , *TWO-dimensional models , *ELECTRIC properties of materials , *OPTICAL properties , *ETCHING - Abstract
A sub-10 nm, high-density, periodic silicon nanodisk (Si-ND) array with a SiC interlayer has been fabricated using a new top-down process that involves a 2D array of a bio-template etching mask and damage-free neutral beam etching. Optical and electrical measurements were carried out to clarify the formation of mini-bands due to wavefunction coupling. We found that the SiC interlayer could enhance the optical absorption coefficient in the layer of Si-NDs due to the stronger coupling of wavefunctions. Theoretical simulation also indicated that wavefunction coupling was effectively enhanced in Si-NDs with a SiC interlayer, which precisely matched the experimental results. Furthermore, the I-V properties of a 2D array of Si-NDs with a SiC interlayer were studied through conductive AFM measurements, which indicated conductivity in the structure was enhanced by strong lateral electronic coupling between neighboring Si-NDs. We confirmed carrier generation and less current degradation in the structure due to high photon absorption and conductivity by inserting the Si-NDs into p-i-n solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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