Improvement of the physical properties of ZnO/CdTe core-shell nanowire arrays by CdCl2 heat treatment for solar cells

Table 1 Photovoltaic properties of the resulting solar cells

Solar cells	J_SC(mA/cm²)	V_OC(mV)	FF (%)	η(%)
As-grown	3 × 10^-6	36	26.2	2.8 × 10^-8
Annealed 300°C, 1 h	0.11	31	27.0	9.2 × 10^-4
Annealed 450°C, 1 h	0.35	96	28.5	9.6 × 10^-3
2 min	0.45	92.5	29.3	1.2 × 10^-2
5 min	0.445	88	28.4	1.15 × 10^-2
10 min	0.44	85.5	29.5	1.1 × 10^-2

The solar cells are composed of as-grown and annealed ZnO/CdTe core-shell NW arrays covered with the CuSCN/Au back-side contact. The ZnO/CdTe core-shell NW arrays annealed at 450°C for 1 h are covered with the CuSCN/Au back-side contact and illuminated under AM 1.5G standard conditions for a varying time prior to the J(V) characteristic measurements.