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This invention is directed to a solar cell that employs an optical fiber and semiconductor nanowires grown around the fiber.
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Background: This invention is directed to a solar cell that employs an optical fiber and semiconductor nanowires grown around the fiber. A p-n junction based design, organic-inorganic heterojunction, or a dye-sensitized structure is built at the surfaces of the nanowires. Light entering the fiber from a tip propagates through the fiber until it enters a nanowire where it reaches a photovoltaic element. Light entering the fiber cannot escape until it interacts with a photovoltaic element, thereby increasing the solar conversion efficiency. The fiber can transmit light, while the nanowires around the fibers increase the surface area of light exposure.