Abstract

In this Letter, a light management structure composed of wedge-shaped semiconductor nanowall arrays is introduced. Theoretical investigation based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) indicates that a 1000 nm high array (wall base width/array periodicity: 500 nm) with an effective thickness of only 500 nm can deliver a maximum photocurrent density ($J_{\text{ph}}$) of $\sim 29.0\mathrm{mA}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ at AM1.5G illumination. (For an ideal absorber with the same bandgap, the corresponding value is $\sim 32.0\mathrm{mA}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$.) However, $J_{\text{ph}}$ of a 1500 nm thick flat GaAs film is only $\sim 19.2\mathrm{mA}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ at the same illumination condition. The wedge-shaped nanowall arrays meanwhile exhibit good omnidirectional light confinement. At the incident angle of 60°, $J_{\text{ph}}$ of the aforementioned nanowall array is $\sim 12.7\mathrm{mA}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$, and the corresponding value for an ideal absorber is $\sim 16.0\mathrm{mA}/{\mathrm{cm}}^2$. Considering the simple structure and excellent light confinement in a broad range of the system parameters, including array periodicity, the nanowall height, and the incident angle of light, the wedge-shaped semiconductor nanowall arrays provide a valuable platform for fabricating the related high performance-to-cost semiconductor optoelectronic devices.

© 2017 Optical Society of America

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