Patent ID: 6878871

Claim:
A photovoltaic device, comprising: a first electrode layer; a second electrode layer; and a first photoactive layer disposed between the first and second electrode layers, wherein the photoactive layer is disposed in at least partial electrical contact with the first electrode along a first plane, and in at least partial electrical contact with the second electrode along a second plane, and wherein the photoactive layer comprises a first inorganic material and a second inorganic material different from the first inorganic material, which first and second inorganic materials exhibit a type II band offset energy profile, and wherein the photoactive layer comprises a first population of nanostructures comprising nanorods comprising the first inorganic material which are not grown from any layer in the photovoltaic device and a second population of nanostructures comprising the second inorganic material, and wherein some of the nanorods of the photoactive layer do not directly contact any other layer in the photovoltaic device.