Nanowire solar cells are receiving a significant amount of attention for their potential to improve light absorption and charge collection in photovoltaics. Single-nanowire solar cells offer the ability to investigate performance limits for macroscale devices, as well as the opportunity for in-depth structural characterization and property measurement in small working devices. Copper indium selenide (CIS) is a material uniquely suited to these investigations. Not only could nanowire solar cells of CIS perhaps allow efficient macroscale photovoltaics to be fabricated while reducing the amount of CIS required, important for a system with possible resource limitations, but it is also a photovoltaic material for which fundamental understanding has been elusive. We here present a recipe for a scaled up vapor liquid solid based synthesis of CIS nanowires, in-depth material and property correlation of single crystalline CIS nanowires, and the first report of a single CIS nanowire solar cell. The synthesis was accomplished by annealing copper-coated In₂Se₃ nanowires at a moderate temperature of 350 °C, leading to solid-state reaction forming CIS nanowires. These nanowires are p-type with a resitivity of 6.5 Ωcm. Evidence is observed for a strong diameter dependence on the nanowire transport properties. The single-nanowire solar cells have an open-circuit voltage of 500 mV and a short-circuit current of 2 pA under AM 1.5 illumination.

中文翻译：

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In ₂ Se _3的便捷化学转化及其在单纳米线器件中的集成化，CuInSe ₂纳米线

纳米线太阳能电池由于其潜在的改善光伏电池中光吸收和电荷收集的潜力而受到了广泛的关注。单纳米线太阳能电池提供了调查大型设备性能极限的能力，并为小型工作设备提供了深入的结构表征和性能测量的机会。硒化铜铟（CIS）是唯一适合这些研究的材料。CIS的纳米线太阳能电池不仅可以在减少所需CIS的数量的同时制造出高效的大规模光伏电池，这对于可能存在资源限制的系统很重要，而且它还是一种光伏材料，对它的基本理解还很薄弱。我们在这里提出了一种配方，用于大规模合成基于CIS纳米线的气液固体，单晶CIS纳米线的深入材料和性能相关性，以及单个CIS纳米线太阳能电池的首次报道。该合成是通过对镀铜In进行退火来完成的₂ Se ₃纳米线在350°C的适度温度下，导致形成CIS纳米线的固态反应。这些纳米线为p型，电阻率为6.5Ωcm。观察到强烈的直径依赖于纳米线传输特性的证据。单纳米线太阳能电池在AM 1.5照明下具有500 mV的开路电压和2 pA的短路电流。