Carrier multiplication between interacting nanocrystals for fostering silicon-based photovoltaics

TL;DR

This paper investigates how interactions between silicon nanocrystals can enhance carrier multiplication, potentially improving the efficiency of silicon-based photovoltaic devices through ab-initio simulations of energy and charge transfer mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a fully ab-initio approach to quantify the impact of nanocrystal interactions on carrier multiplication in dense silicon nanocrystal arrays, highlighting conditions that maximize photovoltaic efficiency.

Findings

Wavefunction sharing enhances carrier multiplication.

Dense nanocrystal arrangements improve charge transfer.

Optimal separation distances maximize photovoltaic benefits.

Abstract

Being a source of clean and renewable energy, the possibility to convert solar radiation in electric current with high efficiency is one of the most important topics of modern scientific research. Currently the exploitation of interaction between nanocrystals seems to be a promising route to foster the establishment of third generation photovoltaics. Here we adopt a fully ab-initio scheme to estimate the role of nanoparticle interplay on the carrier multiplication dynamics of interacting silicon nanocrystals. Energy and charge transfer-based carrier multiplication events are studied as a function of nanocrystal separation showing benefits induced by the wavefunction sharing regime. We prove the relevance of these recombinative mechanisms for photovoltaic applications in the case of silicon nanocrystals arranged in dense arrays, quantifying at an atomistic scale which conditions maximize the outcome.