Abstract
Thin films of antimony-doped SnO 2 deposited on polycrystalline silicon formed a heterojunction with SIS (“Semiconductor-Insulator-Semiconductor”) structure, since an interfacial layer of SiO x between Si and SnO 2 was always present. Thin films of SnO 2 were formed by a new modification of the CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) method. The deposition parameters and the doping by antimony (Sb) were optimized in order to obtain SnO 2 films of low sheet resistance, while maintaining high solar transmittance. DC current-voltage, (I–V) characteristics of the heterojunctions were measured in the dark at different temperatures and under sunlight, together with the output I-V curves. The experimental results indicate that multi-step tunnelling through the silicon barrier might be the predominant current transport mechanism in the dark, at least in the temperature range between 290 and 360 K. It is suggested that photovoltaic properties of these n-SnO 2/ n-Si (poly) heterojunctions could be improved by applying a metal grid front contact to SnO 2 and by using thicker SnO 2 films with lower sheet resistances.
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