An Efficiency Enhanced Graphene/n-Si Schottky Junction for Solar Cells

A novel and facile oxidation-induced self-doping process of graphene-silicon Schottky junction by nitric acid (HNO_3) vapor is reported. The HNO_3 oxidation process makes graphene p-type self-doped, and leads to a higher built-in potential and conductivity to enhance charge transfer and to suppress charge carrier recombination at the graphene-silicon Schottky junction. After the HNO_3 oxidation process, the open-circuit voltage is increased from the initial value of 0.36 V to the maximum value of 0.47 V, the short-circuit current is greatly increased from 0.80 \muA to 7.71 \muA, and the ideality factor is optimized from 4.4 to 1.0. The enhancement of the performance of graphene-Si solar cells may be due to oxidation-induced p-type self-doping of graphene-Si junctions.