Enhanced Efficiency in Swift Heavy Ion Irradiated CdS Quantum Dots Sensitized Solar Cell

The influence of high energy ion beam [swift heavy ion (SHI)] on CdS quantum dots that are used as a sensitizer in a solar cell is studied in this letter. A 100-MeV copper ion beam is selected for irradiation experiment with doses of 1 × 10
¹¹
and 3 × 10
¹¹
ions/cm
²
. With an increase in the dose, the optical absorption edge of irradiated quantum dots reveals a little red shift with respect to that of unirradiated (pristine) ones. The irradiated quantum dots are introduced as a sensitizer on a ZnO photoelectrode solar cell. An increase in the current density is observed for irradiated samples at a lower dose, while at a higher dose, the current density decreases. In addition, the other parameters, like open circuit voltage, fill factor, and photoconversion efficiency, are also reported for the SHI-irradiated quantum dot sensitized solar cell.