Fabrication of copper oxide based heterojunction thin film solar cells using sputtering

Abstract

In this study, p-type CuO and Cu₂O-based heterojunction solar cells were deposited via RF magnetron sputtering, and their properties were studied as a function of the working pressure present during their creation. Firstly, single Cu₂O and CuO films were grown on glass substrates at various working pressures using RF magnetron sputtering, and their characteristics were investigated in terms of the optimal fabrication conditions applicable for solar cells. Then copper oxide was deposited on an n-type silicon wafer and post-annealed in a vacuum. The electrical, optical and structural properties of the fabricated heterojunction solar cells were then investigated and the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of the fabricated p-type copper oxide/n-type Si heterojunction cells were measured using solar simulator. The results indicated that the PCE of the solar cells with CuO film (0.43%) was higher than that of the cells with Cu₂O film (0.12%).

Key Words:

• copper oxide
• p-type
• sputtering
• heterojunction
• solar cell

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy(MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20194030202290) and the Gachon University research fund of 2018.(GCU-2018-0359).