Photoactive Device by Electrochemical Processing of Silicon
Michael Lublow, Katarzyna Skorupska, Jürgen Grzanna, Thomas Stempel-Pereira, Mohammed Aggour
We present first data on the photoactivity of a silicon-based device that was prepared by low-temperature, scalable (photo)electrochemical processing. The structure comprises electrochemically metallized silicon oxide nanopores which serve as emitters in the solar cell, an insulating oxide inbetween the pores and the crystalline Si substrate. Nanopores are created in a self-organized oscillatory process on n- and p-type Si. Results with Pt nanoislands show meanwhile above 7% efficiency in a photovoltaic photoelectrochemical solar cell, H2 evolution using illuminated p-Si and yet poor efficiency in solid state photovoltaic devices. Strategies for further improvements are outlined.