Towards high efficiency nanowire solar cells

Semiconductor nanowires are a class of materials recently gaining increasing interest for solar cell applications. In this article we review the development of the field with a special focus on the III-V materials due to their potential to reach high power conversion efficiencies. After introducing basic concepts of nanowire synthesis, we discuss important aspects of nanowire design for high power conversion efficiencies; first in terms of light absorption, then in terms of charge carrier separation and collection. Further, we examine methods to assess and understand the materials quality and the solar cell performance. We end the review by a discussion of strategies and challenges in achieving efficiencies above the Shockley-Queisser limit, and the potential for cost efficient production.