Enhanced light absorption in silicon by phase engineering

New research shows the formation of large-area R8-Si within the top n-layer of the p-n junction Si solar cell using spherical nanoindentation, and experimentally measured optical properties of R8-Si to demonstrate ten times enhancement in its photocurrent density. After theoretical studies in 2008 indicated that rhombohedral phase (R8) of silicon, which is stable at ambient temperature, has interesting optoelectronic properties suitable for a solar absorber application, this is the first demonstration in experimental studies.