Size dependency of CdSe for light harvesting in quantum dots solar cell using COMSOL Multiphysics

Abstract

A solar cell (SC) can increase its performance by applying a semiconductor nanoparticle into it, and the name became quantum dots solar cell (QDSC). A nanotube of titanium dioxide (TiO2) with various sizes of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) was designed and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics. This study is to identify the size of CdSe QDs that can harvest more light energy at 550 nm of wavelength through electric field distribution simulation. Following the result for CdSe QD that harvested highest at 550 nm of diameter size 3.0 nm, which matched the result of previous research, further study was done to look at the absorption percentage of this size. With the different structures of amorphous silicon SC, the maximum absorption value was 50.664% at 657 nm of wavelength and will increase to 52.819 % at 617 nm of wavelength when the 3 nm diameter size of CdSe is inserted. The presence of a certain size CdSe within an SC structure does improved the performance of SC.