Polymer solar cells blended with silicon nanowires

Solar cells based on conjugated polymers can be processed from solution or dispersion which offers a very important technological potential for low-cost fabrication using high-volume processes like reel to reel technologies. The main limitations of polymer solar cells are assigned to the absorbance only of a small part of the solar spectrum and the limited charge carrier mobility, which restricts the possible film thickness of the organic photoactive layer to below 300 nm. Hybrid inorganic-organic solar cells may be promising candidates to overcome these limitations and became a subject of increasing interests during the past few years. The combination of semiconducting polymers with inorganic nanoparticles remain the advantage of solution processing while benefiting from a broader absorption and/ or a better charge transport. The application of silicon nanowire (SiNW) structures in solar cells offer the chance to use their extraordinary light trapping capabilities resulting in an outstanding light absorption, significantly reduced reflections, superior charge carrier transport properties and a clearly increased p-n junction area.