Unveiling the Synergy of Nanowires and PEDOT:PSS for Silicon Solar Cell Fabrication and Leading to Mechanical Flexibility

This study elucidates a pioneering approach to fabricating flexible crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells with low temperatures by leveraging the light-trapping capabilities of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and the effective junction formation between n-type c-Si and organic p-type PEDOT:PSS. Through comprehensive experimentation, we demonstrate a low-cost fabrication method that utilizes SiNWs and PEDOT:PSS and then achieves mechanical flexibility using 50 μm thin c-Si wafers prepared by alkali etching. Followed by comparing the performance of thinflexible HSCs to traditional 200 μm thick rigid c-Si hybrid heterojunction solar cells (HSCs). The results indicate that SiNWs, combined with PEDOT:PSS, significantly improve the efficiency of both flexible and rigid HSCs. The fabricated devices achieve power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 8.72% for thin-flexible and 10.26% for thick SiNWbased HSCs with optimized 170 nm long SiNWs. This work contributes to the advancement of flexible photovoltaic (PV) technology, offering potential for practical applications in portable and resilient energy solutions.