Influence of Si nanowires on solar cell properties: effect of the temperature

Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) are under active investigations as a promising material for solar cell applications. In this article, the results on temperature influence on Si NW solar cell parameters have been presented. It is known that solar cell parameters degrade at higher temperature. The influence of nanowire diameter and periodicity on solar cell temperature has been modeled by us based on the numerical calculation of the heating under influence of light with intensity of 1 kW/m2. The calculations showed the significant lower heating of solar cell (SC) with Si NWs in comparison with flat silicon or conical textured surfaces. Experimental results revealed significant influence of the temperature on main Si NW SC parameters. The influence of the temperature has been explained based on changing at heating of the silicon and radial p-n junction properties.