Elaboration and characterization of Ni and Al co-doped SnO2 thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

In the present study, aluminum and nickel co-doped SnO2 thin films on glass substrates were successfully synthesized using the spray pyrolysis method. This study aims to discover the effect of aluminum (Al) dopant on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the prepared thin layers. All films deposited (pure, Ni-doped, and Al-Ni-codoped SnO2) were polycrystalline with a tetragonal structure and had a preferential orientation [110], according to XRD analyzes. The optical measurements revealed that all of the synthesized films have good transparency. Depending on the dopant concentration, Ni-Al-codoped SnO2 thin films had a transmittance that ranged between 75% and 85% in the visible and near-infrared spectrum. The electrical measurement confirmed that the electrical resistivity of the elaborated thin films decreases as the Al concentration increases. Therefore, these thin layers are promising for use as a transparent conductive layer in photovoltaic solar cells.