Effects of oxygen plasma pre-treatments on the characteristics of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diodes

We examine the effects of the oxygen plasma pre-treatments on the material properties of n-ZnO grown on p-Si and characterize the electrical properties of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diodes. The lattice spacing of ZnO becomes larger when the ZnO thin film is grown on the oxygen plasma pre-treated Si substrate. This might be relevant to the growth of (101) ZnO onto the ultra-thin SiO₂ interfacial layer, which is formed during the oxygen plasma pre-treatment onto the Si substrate. The formation of SiO₂ gives rise to the increase in the donor-like defect Zn interstitial, and the increased grain size improves the carrier mobility. Because of all the above, the differential conductance at the on-state is increased for the n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode.     

Preparation of chemically deposited thin films of CdS/PbS solar cell

The present paper reports the preparation of a solar cell which has a cross-sectional scheme: ITO/CdS/PbS, containing a commercially transparent conductive ITO; chemically deposited n-type CdS (340 nm) and absorbed layer of p-type PbS (1400 nm). The structural and optical properties of the constituent films are presented. X-ray diffraction showed that all of the thin films are polycrystalline. Using scanning electron microscopy, the present study revealed that the films have uniform surface morphology over the substrate. The solar cell was characterized by determining the open circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and J–V under 40 mW/cm² solar radiation. The efficiency of the solar cells was 1.35%, which is much higher (0.041, 0.5 and 0.1–0.4%) and slightly smaller (1.65%) than some solar cells reported in the literature.     

Fabrication and device characterization of potassium fluoride solution treated CZTSSe solar cell

Post deposition treatment (PDT) for Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) was carried out by simply dipping the absorber into the KF solution at 80 °C. The dipping time of absorber in KF solution was found to be crucial to device parameters of CZTSSe solar cell. The K-doping improved the solar cell efficiency from 4.4% to 7.6% by 1 min dipping whereas the longer than 5 min dipping solar cells showed distorted kink J-V curves. The activation energy of CZTSSe solar cell was increased upto 1 min KF treatment from 0.83 eV to 0.92 eV which indicates interface recombination is reduced significantly. However, the activation energies of 5 min and 10 min dipping solar cells were found to be 0.81 eV and 0.63 eV where dominant recombination was interface recombination. Furthermore, trap energies of 49 meV and 298 meV of pristine CZTSSe solar cell were modified to 33 meV and 117 meV for 1 min treated CZTSSe solar cell. Trap energies of 5 min were calculated to be 112 meV and 147 meV. The proper KF doping passivated the shallow as well as deep defects of CZTSSe solar cell which is reflected in photovoltaic performances directly.     

Improved performance of a crystalline silicon solar cell based on ZnO/PS anti-reflection coating layers

A porous silicon (PS) layer was prepared by photoelectrochemical etching (PECE), and a zinc oxide (ZnO) film was deposited on a PS layer using a radio frequency (RF) sputtering system. The surface morphology of the PS and ZnO/PS layers was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Nano-pores were produced in the PS layer with an average diameter of 5.7 nm, which increased the porosity to 91%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the ZnO/PS layers shows that the ZnO film is highly oriented along the c-axis perpendicular to the PS layer. The average crystallite size of the PS and ZnO/PS layers are 17.06 and 17.94 nm, respectively. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra of the ZnO/PS layers present three emission peaks, two peaks located at 387.5 and 605 nm due to the ZnO nanocrystalline film and a third located at 637.5 nm due to nanocrystalline PS. Raman measurements of the ZnO/PS layers were performed at room temperature (RT) and indicate that a high-quality ZnO nanocrystalline film was formed. Optical reflectance for all the layers was obtained using an optical reflectometer. The lowest effective reflectance was obtained for the ZnO/PS layers. The fabrication of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells based on the ZnO/PS anti-reflection coating (ARC) layers was performed. The I–V characteristics of the solar cells were studied under 100 mW/cm² illumination conditions. The ZnO/PS layers were found to be an excellent ARC and to exhibit exceptional light-trapping at wavelengths ranging from 400 to 1000 nm, which led to a high efficiency of the c-Si solar cell of 18.15%. The ZnO/PS ARC layers enhance and increase the efficiency of the c-Si solar cell. In this paper, the fabrication processes of the c-Si solar cell with ZnO/PS ARC layers are an attractive and promising technique to produce high-efficiency and low-cost of c-Si solar cells.     

Research of microstructural characteristics on nanocrystalline diamond by microwave plasma CVD

In this study, the nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films were carried out by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with CH₄/Ar/H₂ gas concoction on Si substrate at moderate temperatures. The characteristics of NCD films were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, optical emission spectroscopy and optical contact angle meter. The analytical results revealed that C₂ radial was the dominant species in the deposited process. From TEM observation, the NCD films were formed via the etching of hydrocarbons and a small amount of H₂ content additive into gas mixture has improved the aggregation of the nucleation film to form the NCD films. The more hydrophobic surfaces imply that NCD films are the potential biomaterial in the application of article heart valve or stent.     

Fabrication and characterization of zinc oxide anti-reflective coating on flexible thin film microcrystalline silicon solar cell

This paper studies the fabrication and characterization of 80 nm zinc oxide anti-reflective coating (ARC) on flexible 1.3 μm thin film microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) solar cell. High resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) shows a c-axis oriented ZnO (0 0 2) peak (hexagonal crystal structure) at 34.3° with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.3936°. Atomic force microscope (AFM) measures high surface roughness root-mean-square (RMS) of the layer (50.76 nm) which suggests scattering of the incident light at the front surface of the solar cell. UV–vis spectrophotometer illustrates that ZnO ARC has optical transmittance of more than 80% in the visible and infra-red (IR) regions and corresponds to band gap (E_g) of 3.3 eV as derived from Tauc equation. Inclusion of ZnO ARC successfully suppresses surface reflectance from the cell to 2% (at 600 nm) due to refractive index grading between the Si and the ZnO besides quarter-wavelength (λ/4) destructive interference effect. The reduced reflectance and effective scattering effect of the incident light at the front side of the cell are believed to be the reasons why short-circuit current (I_sc) and efficiency (η) of the cell improve.     

Characterization of nanocrystalline SnO2 thin film fabricated by electrodeposition method for dye-sensitized solar cell application

Nanocrystalline SnO₂ thin film was prepared by cathodic electrodeposition-anodic oxidation and its structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction, SEM, UV-visible absorption and nitrogen adsorption-desorption by BET method. The obtained film has a surface area of 137.9 m²/g with grain sized of 24 nm. Thus the prepared SnO₂ thin film can be applied as an electrode in dye-sensitized solar cell. The SnO₂ electrode was successfully sensitized by Erythrosin dye and photoelectrochemical measurements indicate that the cell present short-circuit photocurrent (J_sc) of 760 μA/cm², fill factor (FF = 0.4), photovoltage (V_oc = 0.21 V) and overall conversion efficiency (η) of 0.06% under direct sun light illumination. The relatively low fill factor and photovoltage are attributed to the reduction of triodiode by conduction band electrons and intrinsic properties of SnO₂.     

Preparation and characterization of Cu2FeSnS4 thin films for solar cells via a co-electrodeposition method

Quaternary stannite semiconductor Cu₂FeSnS₄ (CFTS), which is an ideal material for solar photovoltaic cells, has attracted widespread attention. CFTS crystals have been successfully synthesized by the co-electrochemical deposition method. The structure, morphology, and composition of as-synthesized samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), respectively. From the results, it was found that the properties of the sample can be improved by tuning the Cu²⁺ concentration in the electrolyte, and the best sample was obtained with the Cu²⁺ concentration of 0.01?M. For the best sample, the CFTS thin films have single phase and good crystallinity with even particle size. By the addition of ascorbic acid, an effective way has been found to enhance the Fe content in the sample, and the reason for the Fe-poor phenomenon has also been explored.     

Fabrication and electrical characterization of nanocrystalline ZnO/Si heterojunctions

Nanocrystalline zinc oxide (nc-ZnO) films were prepared by a sol-gel process on p-type single-crystalline Si substrates to fabricate nc-ZnO/p-Si heterojunctions. The structure and morphology of ZnO films on Si substrates, which were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), showed that ZnO films consisted of 50-100 nm polycrystalline nanograins with hexagonal wurtzite structure. The electrical transport properties of the nc-ZnO/p-Si heterojunctions were investigated by temperature-dependent current-voltage (I-V) measurements and room temperature capacitance-voltage measurements. The temperature-dependent I-V characteristics revealed that the forward conduction was determined by multi-step tunneling current, and the activation energy of saturation current was about 0.26 eV. The 1/C²-V plots indicated the junction was abrupt and the junction built-in potential was 1.49 V at room temperature.     

Synthesis of wide band gap nanocrystalline NiO powder via a sonochemical method

A sonochemistry-based synthesis method was used to produce nanocrystalline nickel oxide powder with ∼20 nm average crystallite diameter from Ni(OH)₂ precursor. Ultrasound waves were applied to the primary solution to intensify the Ni(OH)₂ precipitation. Dried precipitates were calcined at 320 °C to form nanocrystalline NiO particles. The morphology of the produced powder was characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Using sonochemical waves resulted in lowering of the size of the nickel oxide crystallites. FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed high purity well-crystallized structure of the synthesized powder. Photoluminescence spectroscopy confirmed production of a wide band-gap structure.     

Effect of emitter layer doping concentration on the performance of a silicon thin film heterojunction solar cell

A novel type of n/i/i/p heterojunction solar cell with a-Si:H(15nm)/a-Si:H(10nm)/ epitaxial c-Si(47μm)/epitaxial c-Si(3μm) structure is fabricated by using the layer transfer technique, and the emitter layer is deposited by hot wire chemical vapour deposition. The effect of the doping concentration of the emitter layer S d (Sd =PH3 /(PH3 +SiH4 +H2 )) on the performance of the solar cell is studied by means of current density-voltage and external quantum efficiency. The results show that the conversion efficiency of the solar cell first increases to a maximum value and then decreases with S d increasing from 0.1% to 0.4%. The best performance of the solar cell is obtained at S d = 0.2% with an open circuit voltage of 534 mV, a short circuit current density of 23.35mA/cm2 , a fill factor of 63.3%, and a conversion efficiency of 7.9%.     

Fabrication and electrical characterization of p-Sb2S3/n-Si heterojunctions for solar cells application

Antimony trisulphide (Sb₂S₃) films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique on n-type single crystal Si substrates to fabricate p-Sb₂S₃/n-Si heterojunctions. The electrical transport properties of the p–Sb₂S₃/n-Si heterojunctions were investigated by current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. The temperature-dependent I–V characteristics revealed that the forward conduction was determined by multi-step tunnelling current and the activation energy of saturation current was about 0.54 eV. The 1/C²–V plots indicated the junction was abrupt and the junction built-in potential was 0.6 V at room temperature and decreased with increasing temperature. The solar cell parameters have been calculated for the fabricated cell as V_oc = 0.50 V, J_sc = 14.53 mA cm⁻², FF = 0.32 and η = 4.65% under an illumination of 50 mW cm⁻².     

微晶硅锗薄膜作为近红外光吸收层在硅基薄膜太阳电池中的应用

采用射频等离子体增强化学气相沉积技术,制备了具有一定晶化率不同Ge含量的氢化微晶硅锗(μcSi1-xGex:H)薄膜.通过Ⅹ射线荧光谱、拉曼光谱、X射线衍射谱、傅里叶红外谱、吸收系数谱和电导率的测试,表征了μc-Si_(1-x)Ge_x:H的材料微结构随Ge含量的演变.研究表明:提高Ge含量可以增强μc-Si_(1-x)Ge_x:H薄膜的吸收系数.将其应用到硅基薄膜太阳电池的本征层中可以有效提高电池的短路电流密度(J_(sc)).特别是在电池厚度较薄或陷光不充分的情况下,长波响应的提高会更为显著.应用ZnO衬底后,在Ge含量分别为9%和27%时,μc-Si_(1-x)Ge_x:H太阳电池的转换效率均超过了7%.最后,将μc-Si_(1-x)Ge_x:H太阳电池应用在双结叠层太阳电池的底电池中,发现μc-Si_(0.73)Ge_(0.27):H底电池在厚度为800 nm时即可得到比1700 nm厚微晶硅(μc-Si:H)底电池更高的长波响应.以上结果体现μc-Si_(1-x)Ge_x:H太阳电池作为高效近红外光吸收层,在硅基薄膜太阳电池中应用的前景.     

Growth of Cu2S/CdS nano-layered photovoltaic junctions for solar cell applications

Layered Cu₂S/CdS photovoltaic p-n junctions were fabricated via a simple and reproducible route. CdS inner layer was grown on ITO substrate using chemical bath deposition process for different times. The utilized bath consisted of cadmium sulfate and thiourea with concentrations of 0.05 M and 0.07 M, respectively. CdS layer grown for 600 min was uniform with a thickness of about 500 nm. Moreover, band gap energy of the CdS inner layers was measured as 2.40-2.44 eV depending on the thickness of the layer. Cu₂S outer layer was formed over the CdS via ion exchange chemical route, in a bath consisting of copper chloride aqueous solution. EDS, XRD, and XPS were utilized to characterize the formation of cadmium sulfide, and copper sulfide phases during the fabrication steps of the p-n junctions. Nano-layered cell, each layer 200-250 nm in thickness was fabricated with an apparent band gap of 2.22 eV. SEM imaging of both inner and the outer layers confirmed the uniformity and homogeneity of the CdS and the Cu₂S layers.     

Effect of KI/LiF/CdCl2 on photoluminescent and electroluminescent properties of nanocrystalline (Zn-Cd)S: Cu films

The effect of KI/LiF/CdCl₂ on photoluminescent and electroluminescent (EL) spectra have been reported for (Zn-Cd)S:Cu films. Nanocrystalline films of (Zn-Cd)S:Cu have been prepared using chemical deposition technique in aqueous alkaline bath and their subsequent condensation on substrates. Important results in terms of XRD, SEM, absorption spectra, PL and EL spectra, voltage and frequency dependence of EL brightness are presented. Also, EL brightness waves, EL decay and dependence of EL brightness on nature of electrode material are presented and discussed. SEM studies show best growth conditions in the presence of CdCl₂. Results of XRD studies are associated to ZnS and CdS. Both the studies show average particle sizes to be in the nano order. PL and EL emissions from different films show emission peaks in the blue–green region. Results of absorption spectra show a slight change in band gaps owing to the addition of impurities. Voltage dependence of EL brightness shows effectiveness of acceleration–collision mechanism. Frequency dependence of EL brightness first shows an increase in brightness in the lower frequency range, followed by saturation at higher frequencies. Brightness waves consist of primary and secondary waves, which depend on voltage and frequency of excitation. EL cells with Al electrode give better brightness compared with cells with Ag electrodes. The lifetimes of EL emission are found to be of the order of microseconds.     

Synthesis and characterization of pure and ZrO2-doped nanocrystalline CuO-NiO system

The physicochemical, surface and catalytic properties of pure and doped 0.25CuO-NiO solids prepared by sol-gel method were investigated. The dopant concentration was 2, 4 and 6 mol% ZrO₂. The solids investigated were calcined at 400 and 600 °C. The techniques employed were XRD, EDX, TEM, surface excess oxygen, nitrogen adsorption at −196 °C and catalytic oxidation of CO by O₂ using both static and flow methods. The results revealed that the investigated system dissolved 4 mol% ZrO₂ by heating at 400 °C. This process was accompanied by a significant increase in the S_BET and V_p with subsequent decrease in the (r) values of the doped adsorbent. ZrO₂-doping of the system investigated followed by calcination at 400 and 600 °C led to a considerable increase in its catalytic activity in CO oxidation by O₂ using static and flow methods. The doping process was not accompanied by any change in the activation energy of the catalyzed reaction.     

Fabrication and characterization of graphene oxide/zinc oxide nanorods hybrid

This work presented a hybrid architecture of graphene oxide (GO)/ZnO nanorods (ZNs) with ZNs attached parallel onto GO sheets. ZNs were synthesized by refluxing zinc acetate dehydrate in methanol solution under basic conditions followed by surface modification of 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (ATS), and then the preformed ZNs were attached onto GO sheets by reaction of the amino groups on the outer wall of ZNs with the carboxyl groups on the GO surface. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of the as-prepared hybrid reveals the morphology of the architecture of GO/ZNs hybrid. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and fluorescence spectroscopy were also performed to characterize the structure and properties of the GO/ZNs hybrid. It was shown that ZNs maintained their initial morphology and crystallinity in the hybrid and the luminescence quenching of yellow-green emission of ZNs confirmed the electron transfer from excited ZnO to GO sheets.     

Effect of emitter layer doping concentration on the performance of silicon thin film heterojunction solar cell

A novel type of n/i/i/p heterojunction solar cell with a-Si:H(15 nm)/a-Si:H(10 nm)/ epitaxial c-Si(47 μm)/epitaxial c-Si(3 μm) structure is fabricated by using the layer transfer technique, and the emitter layer is deposited by hot-wire chemical vapour deposition. The effect of the doping concentration of emitter layer S_d (S_d=PH₃/(PH₃+SiH₄+H₂)) on the performance of the solar cell is studied by means of current density-voltage and external quantum efficiency. The results show that the conversion efficiency of the solar cell first increases to a maximum value and then decreases with S_d increasing from 0.1% to 0.4%. The best performance of the solar cell is obtained at S_d = 0.2% with an open circuit voltage of 534 mV, a short circuit current density of 23.35 mA/cm², a fill factor of 63.3%, and a conversion efficiency of 7.9%.     

Performance of conversion efficiency of a bifacial silicon solar cell with particle irradiation

This paper investigates theoretically the performance of conversion efficiency of a bifacial silicon solar cell with particle irradiation. The bifaciality coefficient and the conversion efficiency are calculated for various rear side illumination conditions and electron fluence, taking into account the diffusion length related damage coefficient. The main purpose of the work is to show that irradiation could significantly degrade both the bifaciality coefficient and then the conversion efficiency of the bifacial solar cell and to exhibit the role of the fluence and rear side illumination condition level in the performance of the bifacial silicon solar cell.