Low temperature deposition of chemically converted gaphene films on large area silicon for solar cell applications

Karazhanov, S.Z. , Ait Medjane, F. , Andersen, N. H. , Zhu, J. , Saure, O.V. , Popovici, N. , Holt, A. , Karlsson, A. , Wendelbo, R.

European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, 26, Hamburg, 2011-09-05--09-11. EU PVSEC Proceedings, 26, 543-546

Publ. year: 2011
Publ. type: paper
Abstract: Because of the many useful electronic, optical, and mechanical properties, graphene has emerged as a promising candidate for applications in a range of technologies. This expectation depends on the feasibility of largescale production of graphene layers that can cover surface areas of different substrates of a size relevant for solar cells and other applications. This presently remains to be one of the main challenges. The method of forming chemically converted graphene has the potential to overcome this problem. Another important issue is that the deposition steps for the films need to take place at temperatures low enough not to harm solar cell structures. In the present paper we report deposition of chemically converted graphene film on large area Si at room temperature. The chemical structure of the graphene films have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy and surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy. From UV/vis absorbance spectroscopy it is shown that ~10 nm chemically converted graphene layers transmit >93% of sunlight. Photovoltaic properties of the Si based solar cell structures obtained using the chemically converted graphene method have also been investigated.