Patent ID: 8802483

Claim:
A method of forming a self-organized nanostructured solar cell comprising: a. depositing a semiconductor film on a substrate, wherein said semiconductor film comprises a mixture of at least two constituents; b. controlling a deposition flux of said semiconductor mixture, wherein said deposition flux comprises an average composition corresponding to a two-phase region within said semiconductor mixture, wherein said deposition flux drives a growth-controlled phase segregation of said semiconductor mixture; c. activating said semiconductor film during or after said deposition using thermal or chemical activation, wherein said activated semiconductor film self-assembles according to an inherent anisotropy of said growth-controlled phase segregation into an organized nanostructure geometry comprising an interdigitated and vertically-connected region of said two phase region on said substrate, wherein said interdigitated and vertically-connected region comprises a first structure of said at least one constituent having a first polarity and a second structure of said at least one constituent having a second polarity opposite to said first polarity, wherein said first polarity and said second polarity form a p-n junction of a nanostructured solar cell; and d. depositing a contact on a top surface of said organized nanostructure geometry.