1. Effects on external quantum efficiency of electrochemically constructed n-ZnO/p-Cu2O photovoltaic device by annealing.
- Author
-
Pei Loon Khoo, Yuuki Kikkawa, Tsutomu Shinagawa, and Masanobu Izaki
- Subjects
CUPROUS oxide ,COPPER oxide ,SEMICONDUCTORS ,SOLAR cells ,DIRECT energy conversion - Abstract
Cuprous oxide (Cu
2 O), a terrestrial abundant, low cost, nontoxic, intrinsically p-type oxide semiconductor with bandgap energy of about 2eV, has recently received increasing attention as a light absorbing layer in solar cells. However, the performances of electrochemically constructed Cu2 O solar devices are poor compared to the theoretical power conversion efficiency. This research was conducted focusing on the EQE performance, which is closely related to the short circuit current of a solar device. ZnO/Cu2 O-PV-devices were constructed electrochemically with 3-electrode cell on Ga:ZnO/SLG substrates; ZnO layers were deposited from an aqueous solution of 8 mmolL-1 zinc nitrate hexahydrate at 63°C, 0.01 Coulomb cm-2 , and -0.8V, while Cu2 O layers were deposited from aqueous solution containing 0.4 molL-1 copper (II) acetate monohydrate (pH12.5), at 40°C, 1.5 Coulomb cm-2 , and -0.4V. Devices were then annealed under different temperatures of 150°C, 200°C, 250°C, and 300°C for 60 minutes with a Rapid Thermal Anneal furnace (RTA). The EQE of the devices were measured with a spectral sensitivity device and compared to the non-annealed device. Further studies were made such as morphology observation of the films by FE-SEM and measurements of X-ray diffraction patterns. Annealed samples showed improved maximum EQE at 150-200°C of annealing, indicating that EQE above 90% can be achieved, proving the validity of EQE improvement via low temperature annealing method for thin film Cu2 O photovoltaic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2017