Modeling and design of a new flexible graphene-on-silicon schottky junction solar cell

Abstract

A new graphene-based flexible solar cell with a power conversion efficiency >10% has been designed. The environmental stability and the low complexity of the fabrication process are the two main advantages of the proposed device with respect to other flexible solar cells. The designed solar cell is a graphene/silicon Schottky junction whose performance has been enhanced by a graphene oxide layer deposited on the graphene sheet. The effect of the graphene oxide is to dope the graphene and to act as anti-reflection coating. A silicon dioxide ultrathin layer interposed between the n-Si and the graphene increases the open-circuit voltage of the cell. The solar cell optimization has been achieved through a mathematical model, which has been validated by using experimental data reported in literature. The new flexible photovoltaic device can be integrated in a wide range of microsystems powered by solar energy.