Fabrication and photovoltaic conversion enhancement of graphene/n-Si Schottky barrier solar cells by electrophoretic deposition

•The PCE of GP/n-Si solar cells can be enhanced by doping Au nanoparticles.•Au doping can increase both conductivity and absorbance of window layer.•The P-doping can adjust the Fermi level of GP and can increase open-circuit voltage.

Graphene (GP)/n-Si Schottky barrier solar cells (SBSC) were fabricated by an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method, and their power conversion efficiency (PCE) was increased to 2 folds by post treatments. The main reasons for the enhancement are attributed to the increased conductivity of GP by p-type doping and the absorbance enhancement of active layers where Au nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited on the surfaces of GP. The p-type doping can also lead to an increase of the open-circuit voltage through adjusting the Fermi level of GP, enhancing the build-in potential in the GP/n-Si junction. This study demonstrates that the possibility of using doped GP/n-Si SBSC for light harvesting.