Photovoltaic characterization of graphene/silicon Schottky junctions from local and macroscopic perspectives

Abstract We present Schottky junction solar cell composed of graphene transferred onto hydrogenated amorphous and microcrystalline silicon, a low-cost alternative to well-explored crystalline silicon. We demonstrated sample with open-circuit voltage of 445 mV, a remarkable value for undoped graphene-based solar cell. Photovoltaic characteristics of this sample remained stable over 11 months and could be further improved by doping. The graphene/silicon junctions were characterized by current-voltage curves obtained locally by conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and macroscopically by standard solar simulator. Very good correlation between both independent measurements proved C-AFM as highly useful tool for photovoltaic characterization on nano- and micrometer scale.