Synthesis and characterization of silicon nanowires using tin catalyst for solar cells application

Tin-catalyzed silicon nanowires were synthesized for solar cells application. Voluminous silicon nanowires were fabricated on single crystalline silicon wafer. Optical reflectance and solar cell efficiency of the synthesized silicon nanowires were explored. The reflectance of as-synthesized silicon nanowires was obtained approximately 5% in the short wavelength region (lambda < 500 nm). A short circuit current of 2.3 mA/cm(2) and open circuit voltage of 520 mV for 1 cm(2) SiNWs solar cell was obtained. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.