Spin Coated Nickel Oxide and Vanadium Oxide Layers on Silicon for a Carrier Selective Contact Solar Cell

Abstract

The suitability of two transition metal oxides, nickel oxide and vanadium oxide as carrier selective contacts to silicon were examined. Nickel oxide and vanadium oxide layers on silicon were fabricated by spin-coating and characterized to provide materials parameters as inputs for computer simulations. According to a model we developed in Sentaurus TCAD, the band diagrams of NiOx-Si and VOx-Si solar cells were plotted, followed by a detailed discussion of the transport mechanism. The results demonstrated the potential for fabricating high efficiency carrier selective contact solar cells based on this low-cost and simple method.