Optical simulations of P3HT/Si nanowire array hybrid solar cells

Abstract

An optical simulation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/Si nanowire array (NWA) hybrid solar cells was investigated to evaluate the optical design requirements of the system by using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Steady improvement of light absorption was obtained with increased P3HT coating shell thickness from 0 to 80 nm on Si NWA. Further increasing the thickness caused dramatic decrease of the light absorption. Combined with the analysis of ultimate photocurrents, an optimum geometric structure with a coating P3HT thickness of 80 nm was proposed. At this structure, the hybrid solar cells show the most efficient light absorption. The optimization of the geometric structure and further understanding of the optical characteristics may contribute to the development for the practical experiment of the promising hybrid solar cells. © 2014 Wang et al.; licensee Springer.