Wafer-scale detachable monocrystalline germanium nanomembranes for the growth of III-V materials and substrate reuse.

Germanium (Ge) is increasingly used as a substrate for high-performance optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and electronic devices. These devices are usually grown on thick and rigid Ge substrates manufactured by classical wafering techniques. Nanomembranes (NMs) provide an alternative to this approach while offering wafer-scale lateral dimensions, weight reduction, waste limitation, and cost effectiveness.

Photoconversion Optimization of Pulsed-Laser-Deposited p-CZTS/n-Si-Nanowires Heterojunction-Based Photovoltaic Devices.

We report on the achievement of novel photovoltaic devices based on the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of p-type CuZnSnS (CZTS) layers onto n-type silicon nanowires (SiNWs). To optimize the photoconversion efficiency of these p-CZTS/n-SiNWs heterojunction devices, both the thickness of the CZTS films and the length of the SiNWs were independently varied in the (0.3-1.