Preparation of CuO films at different sputtering powers and the effect of operating temperatures on the photovoltaic characteristics of p-CuO/n-Si heterojunction

Abstract

With the progressively prominent impact of pollution caused by the extensive use of unsustainable fossil energy on the environment, clean energy with solar energy as an important component is developing rapidly. As a p-type semiconductor material with excellent performance, CuO is expected to become one of the most competitive photovoltaic materials in the field of optoelectronic devices. We first explored the effects of changing the sputtering power on the crystalline quality of CuO thin films, and systematically investigated the crystal structure, surface morphology, optical and electrical properties. Then we fabricated an Au/p-CuO/n-Si/Al heterojunction solar cell by magnetron sputtering and analyzed the influence of the device on the electrical properties at different temperatures. High rectification characteristics typical of diodes were obtained. Finally, by measuring and calculating the photovoltaic performance of the device under simulated sunlight irradiation, we studied the dependence of the device operating temperature on the photoelectric conversion efficiency in detail.