Solar cell of Sb2O3:CuO/Si prepared via thermal evaporation technique: structural, morphological properties and efficiency.

Antimonous oxide (Sb2O3) has intriguing physical and chemical features that make it useful in various device applications, including solar cells. Nanofilms of Sb2O3:0.02 wt.% CuO were prepared onto glass and silicon substrates etched by laser using a thermal evaporation process in a vacuum, with different thicknesses of about 20, 30, and 40 nm. The deposited nanofilms have no distinguishing peaks in XRD analysis. The broadening of peak shows due to the absence of long-range symmetry; as a result, the nanocrystalline structure is disorganized. Scanning electron microscope analysis of the surface morphology of the formed nanofilms showed to be spread out uniformly and were devoid of islands and voids. The particles were all about the same size, and the new structures were created with a thickness of 40 nm. Atomic force microscopy scanning images showed the nanofilms' homogeneous surface morphology with granular shape. As nanofilm thickness increased, so did average roughness, root mean square value, and grain diameter. Optical characteristics revealed a reduction in the transmittance spectrum with increasing thicknesses. Instead, the optical energy gap ( E g o p t ) was decreased by quantum confinement from 3.56 to 3.48 eV. The electrical properties of the nanofilms were analyzed, and it was found that all were n-type and that mobility (µ) decreased with nanofilm thickness. As shown by the I–V characteristics, the solar cell's conversion efficiency increases to 6.373% at power = 100 mW/cm2 with 0.138 filling factor, 4 V of open circuit voltage, and 2.6 mA of short circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]