Interface engineering of Graphene-Silicon heterojunction solar cells

Graphene has attracted great research interests due to its unique mechanical, electrical and optical properties, which opens up a huge number of opportunities for applications. Recently, Graphene-Silicon (GrSi) solar cell has been recognized as one interesting candidate for the future photovoltaic. Since the first GrSi solar cell reported in 2010, GrSi solar cell has been intensively investigated and the power converse efficiency (PCE) of it has been developed to 15.6%. This review presents and discusses current development of GrSi solar cell. Firstly, the basic concept and mechanism of GrSi solar cell are introduced. Then, several key technologies are introduced to improve the performance of GrSi solar cells, such as chemical doping, annealing, Si surface passivation and interlayer insertion. Particular emphasis is placed on strategies for GrSi interface engineering. Finally, new pathways and opportunities of “MIS-like structure” GrSi solar cells are described.