Abstract
Amorphous carbon (a-C) thin films have been synthesized by microwave (MW) surface wave plasma (SWP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on n-type silicon and quartz substrates, aiming at the application of the films for photovoltaic solar cells. Argon, acetylene and trimethylboron were used as a carrier, source and dopant gases. Analytical methods such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Hall Effect measurement, JASCO V-570 UV/VIS/NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Solar simulator were employed to investigate chemical, optical, structural and electrical properties of the a-C films. Two types of solar cells of configuration p-C/n-Si and p-C/i-C/n-Si have been fabricated and their current-voltage characteristics under dark and illumination (AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm2) have been studied. The two solar cells showed rectifying curves under the dark condition confirming the heterojunction carbon based solar cell between p-C and n-Si. When illuminated by the solar simulator light the devices showed photovoltaic behavior. The heterojunction device (p-C/i-C/n-Si) having inserted intrinsic carbon film between p-C and n-Si exhibited significant enhancement of the conversation efficiency (0.167% to 2.349%) over the device (p-C/n-Si).
Highlights
Various semiconductor materials have been used to fabricate solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity
Amorphous carbon (a-C) thin films have been synthesized by microwave (MW) surface wave plasma (SWP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on n-type silicon and quartz substrates, aiming at the application of the films for photovoltaic solar cells
Amorphous carbon (a-C) thin films were deposited on n-type silicon (Si) wafer and quartz substrates by microwave (MW) surface wave plasma (SWP) chemical vapor deposition (CVD)
Summary
Various semiconductor materials have been used to fabricate solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Silicon based solar cells are dominant in the market which are expensive, and not practical to use for daily life. Release of a toxic gas (SiO2) while fabricating silicon based solar cells is discouraging for environment and to human health. The cost reduction of solar cell and establishment of environmentally friendly production process are very important for development and promotion of photovoltaic technology in the near future. One of the attractive alternatives is the application of carbon based solar cell that can be fabricated from cheap, abundant and nontoxic precursors [1,2]. Carbon an element of group IV in the periodic table existing in many forms with a wide range of optoelectronic properties has been found as a highly attractive material for its possible ap-
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