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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Impact of the intermixed phase and the channel network on the carrier mobility of nanostructured solar cells

Full text
Author(s):
Woellner, Cristiano F. [1] ; Freire, Jose A. [2]
Total Authors: 2
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Appl Phys, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Fed Parana, Dept Fis, BR-81531990 Curitiba, PR - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: Journal of Chemical Physics; v. 144, n. 8 FEB 28 2016.
Web of Science Citations: 2
Abstract

We analyzed the impact of the complex channel network of donor and acceptor domains in nanostructured solar cells on the mobility of the charge carriers moving by thermally activated hopping. Particular attention was given to the so called intermixed phase, or interface roughness, that has recently been shown to promote an increase in the cell efficiency. The domains were obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation of a two-species lattice gas. We generated domain morphologies with controllable channel size and interface roughness. The field and density dependence of the carrier hopping mobility in different morphologies was obtained by solving a master equation. Our results show that the mobility decreases with roughness and increases with typical channel sizes. The deleterious effect of the roughness on the mobility is quite dramatic at low carrier densities and high fields. The complex channel network is shown to be directly responsible for two potentially harmful effects to the cell performance: a remarkable decrease of the mobility with increasing field and the accumulation of charge at the domains interface, which leads to recombination losses. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 13/08293-7 - CCES - Center for Computational Engineering and Sciences
Grantee:Munir Salomao Skaf
Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC
FAPESP's process: 14/24547-1 - Theoretical investigations on growth and fracture mechanisms of graphene-based nanostructures
Grantee:Cristiano Francisco Woellner
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral