Effects of Nitrogen Doping on Nanocrystalline Diamond/p-Type Si toward Solar Cell Applications

Abstract

In this work, a solar cell structure of nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond (NCD:N)/p-type silicon was fabricated using microwave plasma jet chemical vapour deposition technique. The effects of nitrogen doping level on the structure, optical, and electrical of the as-grown NCD:N was discussed. The results showed that the micro structure, surface roughness, electrical properties, and optical properties were affected by the nitrogen doping. Additionally, the agglomeration of the film was increased with the higher concentration of CN species when the ratio of doped nitrogen increased. The roughness of the film was Rms:16.5 nm ~ 20.4 nm and the wettability was increased (contact angle 94.4o~ 64.6o). The optical transmittance was decreased (87% ~ 72%) with the higher nitrogen. The results of Hall measurements showed that the carrier concentration increased 2 order (1016 cm-3to 1018 cm-3) through nitrogen doping. The solar cell was made by NCD: N compound with p-type silicon. The photoelectric conversion efficiency was 2.8%. The open-circuit voltage was 0.52 V. The short-circuit current was 3 mA and the fill factor was 0.38.