High-performance and high-stability LaVO3/Si solar cells through employing thickness-controlled LaVO3 and a titanium oxide passivation layer

Abstract

LaVO3 is well known as a promising material for use in photovoltaic devices because of its high absorption of visible light. Here, we report on the photovoltaic parameters and photostability of LaVO3/Si/TiOx solar cell devices. In this work, the photovoltaic parameters of the device are controlled via the thickness (t) of the LaVO3 layer; such control is possible because the transmittance, absorbance, and reflectance of this layer are dependent on its thickness. TiOx passivation is also used to reduce the recombination loss at the back surface. Furthermore, TiOx passivation improves the power conversion efficiency (PCE) by blocking recombination at the Si/metal interface. The LaVO3/Si/TiOx cells exhibit a maximum PCE of 6.78% at t = 70 nm. The PCE of the device shows only a 9% decrease after continuous 500 h irradiation at an intensity of 100 mW cm−2 at a temperature of 60 °C and 30–35% relative humidity, suggesting excellent long-term stability.