Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Quantifying losses and thermodynamic limits in nanophotonic solar cells

Nature Nanotechnology volume 11, pages 1071–1075 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Nanophotonic engineering shows great potential for photovoltaics: the record conversion efficiencies of nanowire solar cells are increasing rapidly1,2 and the record open-circuit voltages are becoming comparable to the records for planar equivalents3,4. Furthermore, it has been suggested that certain nanophotonic effects can reduce costs and increase efficiencies with respect to planar solar cells5,6. These effects are particularly pronounced in single-nanowire devices, where two out of the three dimensions are subwavelength. Single-nanowire devices thus provide an ideal platform to study how nanophotonics affects photovoltaics7,8,9,10,11,12. However, for these devices the standard definition of power conversion efficiency no longer applies, because the nanowire can absorb light from an area much larger than its own size6. Additionally, the thermodynamic limit on the photovoltage is unknown a priori and may be very different from that of a planar solar cell. This complicates the characterization and optimization of these devices. Here, we analyse an InP single-nanowire solar cell using intrinsic metrics to place its performance on an absolute thermodynamic scale and pinpoint performance loss mechanisms. To determine these metrics we have developed an integrating sphere microscopy set-up that enables simultaneous and spatially resolved quantitative absorption, internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) measurements. For our record single-nanowire solar cell, we measure a photocurrent collection efficiency of >90% and an open-circuit voltage of 850 mV, which is 73% of the thermodynamic limit (1.16 V).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Characterization of a record single-nanowire solar cell using integrating sphere microscopy.
Figure 2: IQE of a single-nanowire photovoltaic device.
Figure 3: PLQY and power dependence.
Figure 4: Measuring thermodynamic limits and quantifying the loss mechanisms in single-nanowire solar cells.

References

  1. Aberg, I. et al. A GaAs nanowire array colar cell with 15.3% efficiency at 1 sun. IEEE J. Photovoltaics 6, 185–190 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Wallentin, J. et al. InP nanowire array solar cells achieving 13.8% efficiency by exceeding the ray optics limit. Science 339, 1057–1060 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kayes, B. M. et al. 27.6% conversion efficiency, a new record for single-junction solar cells under 1 sun illumination. In Proc. 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf. 4–8 (IEEE, 2011).

  4. Wanlass, M . Systems and methods for advanced ultra-high-performance InP solar cells. US patent 20150280042 (2015).

  5. Polman, A. & Atwater, H. A. Photonic design principles for ultrahigh-efficiency photovoltaics. Nat. Mater. 11, 174–177 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Krogstrup, P. et al. Single-nanowire solar cells beyond the Shockley–Queisser limit. Nat. Photon. 7, 306–310 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Tian, B. et al. Coaxial silicon nanowires as solar cells and nanoelectronic power sources. Nature 449, 885–889 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Tang, J., Huo, Z., Brittman, S., Gao, H. & Yang, P. Solution-processed core–shell nanowires for efficient photovoltaic cells. Nat. Nanotech. 6, 568–572 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Holm, J. V. et al. Surface-passivated GaAsP single-nanowire solar cells exceeding 10% efficiency grown on silicon. Nat. Commun. 4, 1498 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Allen, J. E. et al. High-resolution detection of Au catalyst atoms in Si nanowires. Nat. Nanotech. 3, 168–173 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Nowzari, A. et al. A comparative study of absorption in vertically and laterally oriented InP core-shell nanowire photovoltaic devices. Nano Lett. 15, 1809–1814 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kelzenberg, M. D. et al. Photovoltaic measurements in single-nanowire silicon solar cells. Nano Lett. 8, 710–714 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Crut, A., Maioli, P., Del Fatti, N. & Vallée, F. Optical absorption and scattering spectroscopies of single nano-objects. Chem. Soc. Rev. 43, 3921–3956 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Yorulmaz, M. et al. Single-particle absorption spectroscopy by photothermal contrast. Nano Lett. 15, 3041–3047 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Gaiduk, A., Yorulmaz, M., Ruijgrok, P. V. & Orrit, M. Room-temperature detection of a single molecule's absorption by photothermal contrast. Science 330, 353–356 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Arbouet, A. et al. Direct measurement of the single-metal-cluster optical absorption. Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 127401 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Blancon, J.-C. et al. Direct measurement of the absolute absorption spectrum of individual semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes. Nat. Commun. 4, 2542 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Husnik, M. et al. Quantitative experimental determination of scattering and absorption cross-section spectra of individual optical metallic nanoantennas. Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 233902 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Burkhard, G. F., Hoke, E. T. & McGehee, M. D. Accounting for interference, scattering, and electrode absorption to make accurate internal quantum efficiency measurements in organic and other thin solar cells. Adv. Mater. 22, 3293–3297 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Gargas, D. J., Gao, H., Wang, H. & Yang, P. High quantum efficiency of band-edge emission from ZnO nanowires. Nano Lett. 11, 3792–3796 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. De Luca, M. et al. Polarized light absorption in wurtzite InP nanowire ensembles. Nano Lett. 15, 998–1005 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Leyre, S. et al. Absolute determination of photoluminescence quantum efficiency using an integrating sphere setup. Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 123115 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rau, U. Reciprocity relation between photovoltaic quantum efficiency and electroluminescent emission of solar cells. Phys. Rev. B 76, 085303 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Green, M. A. Radiative efficiency of state-of-the-art photovoltaic cells. Prog. Photovoltaics 20, 472–476 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Cao, L. et al. Engineering light absorption in semiconductor nanowire devices. Nat. Mater. 8, 643–647 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Chu, S. N. G., Logan, R. A., Geva, M. & Ha, N. T. Concentration dependent Zn diffusion in InP during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. J. Appl. Phys. 78, 3001 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Van Weert, M. H. M. et al. Large redshift in photoluminescence of p-doped InP nanowires induced by Fermi-level pinning. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 043109 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Shockley, W. & Queisser, H. J. Detailed balance limit of efficiency of p-n junction solar cells. J. Appl. Phys. 32, 510 (1961).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Sandhu, S., Yu, Z. & Fan, S. Detailed balance analysis and enhancement of open-circuit voltage in single-nanowire solar cells. Nano Lett. 14, 1011–1015 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Yu, Z., Sandhu, S. & Fan, S. Efficiency above the Shockley–Queisser limit by using nanophotonic effects to create multiple effective bandgaps with a single semiconductor. Nano Lett. 14, 66–70 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Mårtensson, T. et al. Nanowire arrays defined by nanoimprint lithography. Nano Lett. 4, 699–702 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Pierret, A. et al. Generic nano-imprint process for fabrication of nanowire arrays. Nanotechnology 21, (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge A. Polman for the use of lab space and equipment and for a thorough reading of the manuscript, M. Seynen, H.-J. Boluijt and D. Verheijde for technical support and H.-J. Boluijt for the schematic in Fig. 1c. We would like to thank R. Van Veldhoven for maintaining the MOCVD system and M. Verheijen for the TEM measurements. We acknowledge Solliance for funding the TEM facility and the technical support from the NanoLab@TU/e cleanroom. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme ((FP/2007–2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 337328, ‘NanoEnabledPV’), the Dutch Technology Foundation STW (project 11826), which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. This work is part of the research programme of the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), which is part of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Sander A. Mann and Sebastian Z. Oener: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanophotonics, FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, Amsterdam, 1098 XG, The Netherlands

    Sander A. Mann, Sebastian Z. Oener & Erik C. Garnett

  2. Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands

    Alessandro Cavalli, Jos E. M. Haverkort & Erik P. A. M. Bakkers

  3. Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Erik P. A. M. Bakkers

Authors
  1. Sander A. Mann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sebastian Z. Oener
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alessandro Cavalli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jos E. M. Haverkort
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Erik P. A. M. Bakkers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Erik C. Garnett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

E.C.G., S.A.M. and S.Z.O. conceived the experiment. A.C., J.E.M.H. and E.P.A.M.B. synthesized the nanowires. S.Z.O. developed the contacting procedure, performed the solar simulator measurements and EBIC characterization. S.A.M. developed the integrating sphere microscopy and performed the optical measurements. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erik C. Garnett.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information

Supplementary information (PDF 517 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mann, S., Oener, S., Cavalli, A. et al. Quantifying losses and thermodynamic limits in nanophotonic solar cells. Nature Nanotech 11, 1071–1075 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2016.162

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2016.162

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Find nanotechnology articles, nanomaterial data and patents all in one place. Visit Nano by Nature Research