Rapid microwave growth of ZnO nanowires for low cost photovoltaics cells using reclaimed silicon substrates

Rapid, microwave-assisted, solution-based growth of ZnO nanowires has been applied for low cost anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) for Photovoltaics (PV) cells. The PV cells are fabricated using reclaimed silicon substrates. The ZnO nanowires were grown on textured silicon substrates, with 800 W microwave power for 2 minutes. A silicon nitride ARC layer was subsequently deposited on top of the ZnO nanowires layer. The rapid grown ZnO nanowires successfully enhanced the solar light capture properties by 1.72%, resulting in an increase of solar cell conversion efficiency of 1.76%.