ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a detailed simulation study of the electro-optical characteristics of nanowire array solar cells. Nanowire arrays show unique optical and electronic features for photovoltaic applications. It discusses the efficiency of solar cells that contain nanostructures. Nanostructures can modify the optical or the electronic properties. The electronic current density of the solar cell can be easily obtained from current continuity in the steady state. In thermal equilibrium, all of the emission and absorption processes of the solar cell can be equated, as there is no net current at the contacts. Waveguides, resonators, or optical antennas can influence the optical absorption behavior of a solar cell. In solar cells, the application of electronic nanostructures has not been used as a standard feature to improve the cell efficiency. Any electronic model describes the dynamics of the charge carriers inside the solar cell, i.e., the photogenerated carriers and the intrinsic carriers under applied bias.
