Plasma-assisted carbon nanotube for solar cell application

This work investigated a method for improving the efficiency of solar cells through the incorporation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which were used as the absorber layer of the solar cell. The CNTs were generated using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The use of the PECVD-generated CNTs in the absorber layer of the solar cell was found to increase the electrical conductivity due to the introduction of a large number of free charge carriers in the form of electrons and holes. We were thus able for the first time to estimate a relation between plasma variables and the efficiency of the proposed solar cell. The results showed that an increase in electron and ion density resulted in an increase in the efficiency of the solar cell, whereas an increase in electron and ion temperature led to a decrease in efficiency. We also studied the variation in efficiency in relation to the absorber layer of the proposed solar cell structure. The results obtained were consistent with those from previous studies based on solar cells.