Undoped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Research Articles

Structural and Optical Properties of Cobalt-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Prepared By Spray Pyrolysis Technique

Undoped and Co-doped zinc oxide (CZO) thin films have been prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using solution of zinc acetate and cobalt chloride. The effect of Co dopants on structural and optical properties has been investigated. The films were found to exhibit maximum transmittance (~90%) and low absorbance. The structural properties of the deposited films were examined by x-ray diffraction (XRD). These films, deposited on glass substrates at (400? C), have a polycrystalline texture with a wurtzite hexagonal structure, and the grain size was decreased with increasing Co concentration, and no change was observed in lattice constants while the optical band gap decreased from (3.18-3.02) eV for direct allowed transition. Other parameters such as Texture Coefficient (Tc), dislocation density (?) and number of crystals (M) were also calculated .

The figure of merit improvement of (Sn, Co)–ZnO sprayed thin films for optoelectronic applications

Nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) has garnered significant attention from researchers and industries due to its superior properties as an optoelectronic material, particularly in solar cells as a transparent electrode. Doping, especially with tin (Sn) and co-doping with tin and cobalt (Co), can refine its optoelectronic properties. In this manuscript, we report on the optoelectronic properties of undoped ZnO thin films, as well as those doped with Sn and/or Co, elaborated using a simple chemical pneumatic spray pyrolysis method on glass substrates. A 1 % Sn doping concentration was used, with Co doping concentrations of 0 %, 0.5 %, and 1 %. The effects of Sn and/or Co doping concentration on the structure, morphology, optical, and electrical properties of nanocrystalline ZnO were studied using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy and Hall effect measurements. All the films studied exhibit wurtzite ZnO structures with a predominant (002) orientation and no secondary phase, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The Raman spectroscopy also reveals the presence of a wurtzite structure in all the films. The FESEM images reveal the kind and concentration of the dopants significantly influenced the surface morphology of the films. The elemental analysis with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) analysis successfully detected the doping of Sn and Co. The analysis of UV–Vis spectroscopy provide that the optical band gap for the undoped ZnO film is 3.25 eV. This band gap increases upon doping and co-doping, reaching a peak value of 3.30 eV for the Sn:Co (1 %:0.5 %) co-doped ZnO film. The ZnO film shows an improvement in the electrical resistivity upon doping and co-doping with low resistivity value of 1.95 × 10−2 Ω cm for the film (1%Sn, 0.5 % Co)–ZnO. The highest figure of merit (FOM) achieved is 1.41 × 10−4 Ω−1 for a ZnO thin film co-doped with (1 % Sn, 0.5 % Co). The existence of (1 % Sn, 0.5 % Co) film with improved optical gap, low electrical resistivity and high FOM supports its use in transparent conductive oxide applications.

Photocurrent performance and enhancement of opto-electronic properties of spray pyrolysis deposited ZnO thin films via V-doping

This study reports on the deposition of highly transparent conducting n-type zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films on FTO substrates, via an optimized doping process. Our work is focused on doping zinc oxide with vanadium (V) using spray pyrolysis technique and ensure the synthesis of nanoparticles-shaped ZnO, with an improved optical, microstructural and electrical properties for solar cells applications, as optical window material. Undoped and V-doped ZnO thin films, with careful optimized amounts (2, 4, 6 and 8 at.%), were grown at maintained 550∘C pre-heated substrate during the deposition process, which enables us to obtain nano-sized ZnO particles. We proved that 4 at.% is the optimum V content that enhances the crystallinity of the grown thin film noticeably. With an average transmittance of 80%, the deposited thin films revealed high transparency in the visible domain with a slight decrease in optical transmission which might result from additional scattering. UV-Visible analysis showed that increasing V amounts, a resulting decrease in the energy bandgap ([Formula: see text]) is obtained from 3.26[Formula: see text]eV to 3.17[Formula: see text]eV for 4 at.% of V content. Moreover, deep level defects in zinc oxide can be reduced with vanadium doping and consequently strengthen the UV emission. The UV emission peak intensity rises with increasing V-doping amount then decreases slightly at 8% of V content. The electrical properties measurements showed a decrease in resistivity from 2.8 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]⋅[Formula: see text]cm to 0.9 10[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]⋅[Formula: see text]cm when doping with 4 at.% of V. The crucial effect of the V-doping of ZnO was also demonstrated via the enhancement of carrier mobility that attains 38.5[Formula: see text]cm2/V[Formula: see text]⋅[Formula: see text]s at the optimum vanadium content. The photocurrent analysis revealed much higher visible light absorption in the V-doped zinc oxide thin films than that of undoped film. The photocatalytic activity enhancements are attributed to the lower recombination rate of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs, the narrowed bandgap, yielding a higher photocatalytic performance.

Air and Vacuum Annealing Effect on the Highly Conducting and Transparent Properties of the Undoped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Prepared by DC Magnetron Sputtering

In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of zinc interstitials (Zni) and oxygen vacancies (VO) on the ZnO electrical conductivity. ZnO films were synthesized via DC magnetron sputtering process using pure Zn target in gases mixture of Ar/O2 = 80/17.5 (sccm). In order to improve the optical and electrical prosperities, the obtained films were subjected to air and vacuum annealing treatment. Several techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and UV-visible were used to study the influence of heat treatment on structural and physical properties of ZnO films. Electrical conductivity of ZnO thin films was determined by measuring the sheet resistance and thickness of the films. XRD results confirm the synthesis of annealed ZnO films of the hexagonal structure with a preferential orientation along the (002) plane. The average crystallite size is altered between 22.6 to 28.4 nm dependent on the plan orientation of the ZnO film. Morphology and crystallinity of the ZnO structure could efficiently control the transmittance, electrical resistivity and optical band gap. As deposited ZnO film showed a lower electrical resistivity of 2.72×10-3 Ωcm due to the Zn-rich conditions. Under vacuum annealing, a combination of low resistivity (1.17×10-2 Ωcm) and better optical transmittance (87 %) are obtained. ZnO films developed in this study with high transmittance and low resistivity and good electro-optical quality supports their use in transparent and conductive electrode applications. The plan presentation was visualized using Vesta, with the lattice parameter set as follows: a = b = 3.249 Å; c = 5.207 Å; α = β = 90°; γ = 120°. Based on the construction and optimization of primitive cells, the supercells were constructed and then optimized. Finally, (002) and (103) planes were cut and the planar supercell structure was constructed. In order to make a plane representation for the solid bulk with 10 Å of thickness.

Structural, optical and luminescence properties of ZnO thin films: Role of hot electrons defining the luminescence mechanisms

Single, double, and triple-coated undoped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films are prepared by the traditional sol-gel spin coating technique on the quartz substrate. X-ray diffraction data of the thin films confirm that all films have hexagonal wurtzite structures. Morphological images reveal that all films have a wrinkles-like morphology due to processing conditions. The UV-VIS absorption spectra show no significant differences among the films. The optical band-gap Eg is estimated by adopting the Tauc expression and is found to be almost identical for all three films. Room temperature Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of triple-coated undoped ZnO thin film is reported which show the reduction in the visible PL intensity with increasing excitation wavelengths followed by the emergence of sharp “NBE-like” UV peak at higher excitation wavelengths. A qualitative physical model is proposed for elucidating the PL features. In the qualitative model the role of the hot energetic electrons population in the deep conduction band is invoked, whose relaxation in the defect bands have been inferred to dictate the overall luminescence mechanism.

Comparative Studies of Undoped/Al-Doped/In-Doped ZnO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films in Optoelectronic Applications

In this paper, undoped, Al-, and In-doped zinc oxide thin films were deposited. Film growth was performed using the sol–gel technique. The method included (a) preparing homogeneous and stable solutions of zinc acetate 2-hydrate, (b) mixing them with aluminum nitrate and indium acetate in 2-methoxyethanol and 2-aminoethanol solutions with various concentrations, and (c) spin coating them onto transparent glass substrates. After thermal annealing, the films showed a high transparency (80–90%) and good stability. Using typical diagnostic tools, the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical film properties were investigated and linked to the dopant type, and concentrations in view of optoelectronics were investigated.

Property evaluation of spin coated Al doped ZnO thin films and Au/AZO/FTO Schottky diodes

In the present work, the structural, optical and electrical properties of pristine and aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates by sol-gel spin coating technique are explored. Further, the effect of doping on the performance of Au/AZO/FTO Schottky diode were analysed through I–V characterization at room temperature. The c-axis orientation of the deposited films was confirmed by X-Ray diffraction studies. Micrographs from atomic force microscope revealed the wrinkled morphology and columnar structure for undoped and doped zinc oxide thin films respectively. The diode parameters such as Schottky barrier height (ΦB), ideality factor (n) and series resistance (Rs) were determined by using thermionic emission model and Cheung's model. These parameters were found to depend on the doping concentration. Devices with undoped and 6 at% aluminium doped ZnO thin films have shown better rectification.

Investigation of fractal behavior, optical properties and electronic environments of carbon-doped of ZnO Thin Films

The undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) and carbon-doped zinc oxide (C:ZnO) thin films were synthesized with different process temperatures by using a chemical vapor deposition technique. The fractal dimension of AFM images was evaluated by power spectral density function, spatial function distribution, cube counting, and triangular counting by Gwyddion software. AFM results reveal undoped and C:ZnO indicated a larger particle size (~ 1.5 µm) and 200–50 nm, respectively, with increase in process temperature from 650 to 750 °C. The estimated lattice strain varied from 0.0033 to 0.0008 and 0.0038 to 0.0078 corresponding to the process temperature 650–750 °C for ZnO and C:ZnO thin films, respectively. The oxygen and zinc contents varied from 43.65 to 47.16 at.% and 47.13 to 33.83 at.%, respectively. The optical bandgap varied from 3.17 to 3.19 eV and 3.14 to 3.06 eV for undoped ZnO and C:ZnO thin films, respectively, and ID/IG varied 1.97–2.22 as the carbon content increased from 9.21 to 19 at.%. Photoluminescence of C:ZnO indicated deep level defect shifted from 481.56 to 515.1 nm with increase in process temperature from 650 to 750 °C. The possible bonding network of core orbital of Zn(2p), C(1s), and O(1s) in the C:ZnO thin films has been discussed by deconvolution with the Origin 2018.

Silver Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Film Production by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) Technique

In this paper, silver (Ag)doped Zinc Oxide(ZnO) thin films were prepared on glass and silicon substrate by using a thermionic vacuum arc technique. The surface, structural, optical characteristics of silver doped thin films have been examined by X-Ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning emission electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. As a result of these measurements, Ag, Zn and ZnO reflection planes were determined for thin films formed on Si and glass substrate. Nano crystallites have emerged in FESEM and AFM images. The produced films have low transparency. The optical band gap values were measured by photoluminescence devices at room temperature for thin films produced on silicon and glass substrate. The band gap values are very close to 3.10 eV for Ag doped ZnO thin films. The band gap of un-doped ZnO thin film is approximately 3.3 eV. It was identified that Ag doped changes the properties of the ZnO thin film.

Silver Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Film Production by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) Technique

In this paper, silver (Ag)doped Zinc Oxide(ZnO) thin films were prepared on glass and silicon substrate by using a thermionic vacuum arc technique. The surface, structural, optical characteristics of silver doped thin films have been examined by X-Ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning emission electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. As a result of these measurements, Ag, Zn and ZnO reflection planes were determined for thin films formed on Si and glass substrate. Nano crystallites have emerged in FESEM and AFM images. The produced films have low transparency. The optical band gap values were measured by photoluminescence devices at room temperature for thin films produced on silicon and glass substrate. The band gap values are very close to 3.10 eV for Ag doped ZnO thin films. The band gap of un-doped ZnO thin film is approximately 3.3 eV. It was identified that Ag doped changes the properties of the ZnO thin film.

Undoped and Nickel-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Dip Coating and Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Methods for Propane and Carbon Monoxide Sensing Applications.

Undoped and nickel-doped zinc oxide thin films were deposited on sodalime glass substrates by utilizing dip coating and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition techniques. In both cases zinc acetate and nickel acetylacetonate were used as zinc precursor and nickel dopant source, respectively. XRD analysis confirms the ZnO wurtzite structure with (002) as the preferential orientation.SEM studies show the formation of two types of morphologies, primarily a porous spherical grains with a grain size distribution from 40 to 150 nm and another, rose-like structures with size distribution from 30 to 200 nm, based on different deposition techniques utilized. The elemental depth profiles across the films were investigated by the secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Different gas sensing responses of all ZnO films were obtained for both propane and carbon monoxide gases, at different gas concentrations and operating temperatures. The highest sensing response (~6) for undoped ZnO films was obtained for films deposited by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). Nevertheless, the highest sensing response (~4 × 104) for doped ZnO films was obtained for films deposited by dip coating method. The behavior of sensing responses is explained in detail based on the morphological properties and the amount of Ni impurities incorporated into the crystal lattice.

Opto-electronic properties of solution-processed zinc oxide thin films: role of solvents and doping

Undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) and nitrogen-doped zinc oxide (NZO) thin films were prepared on transparent conducting oxide-coated glass substrates by employing sol–gel technique. The effect of different solvents and nitrogen doping on the optical, structural, and electrical properties was investigated by UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), profilometry, and Hall effect studies. ZnO films yielded transmittance above 85% and the bandgap of ZnO thin films decreased with doping. XRD pattern confirmed hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO. NZO thin films were found to be in the nano-thin film phase with thickness of 40 nm. Hall effect studies yielded carrier concentration of 1.2 × 1015 cm−3 and 2.03 × 1014 cm−3, respectively, for undoped and doped ZnO thin films. The changes in vibrational modes of ZnO due to nitrogen doping were detected using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. It was found that p-type doping, leading to an improved surface morphology, led to a reduction in optical bandgap and an increased charge carrier mobility. The choice of the solvent was found to have a profound influence on the surface morphology, optical bandgap, tail states distribution, and charge carrier mobility.

Chemical, morphological and optical properties of undoped and Cu-doped ZnO thin films submitted to UHV treatment

The undoped and Cu-doped zinc oxide (UZO and CZO) thin films deposited on Si substrate were treated in the UHV (Ultra-High Vacuum) system using Ar+ sputtering followed by a controlled annealing process at 650 °C. The sensitive experimental techniques XPS (X-rays Photoelectron Spectroscopy), REELS (Reflection Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy), PL (Photoluminescence) and AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) have been adopted to characterize the effect of this UHV treatment on the chemical, morphological and optical properties of both samples. The XPS results show the complete removal of contamination species from the surface and bulk for both samples and display the well-defined formation of CuO and/or CuOuZn compounds in the CZO. The AFM images exhibit a significant improvement in the surface morphologies, especially CZO. Through the REELS results, the appearance of CuO oscillator (4.5 eV) at high primary energy proves more incorporation of copper into the bulk ZnO matrix. Besides, the PL measurements reveal a complete disappearance of green emission of UZO and improvement for CZO one. The slight redshift and the broadening of CZO UV-emission confirm the incorporation and substitution of copper into the ZnO matrix. Thus, this treatment is of great interest to improve the surface efficiency for reliable devices.

Optical, Structural, and Crystal Defects Characterizations of Dip Synthesized (Fe-Ni) Co-Doped ZnO Thin Films.

Sol-gel technique is used to synthesize as-grown zinc oxide (ZnO) and iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) co-doped ZnO thin films deposited on glass substrates using dip coating technique. The structural properties and crystal imperfections of as-prepared thin films are investigated. We performed the structural analysis of films using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD analysis reveal that the as-prepared films exhibit wurtzite structure. Furthermore, XRD-line profile analysis is performed to study the correlation between structural properties and imperfections of the nanocomposite thin films. The crystallite size and microstrains parameters are predicted using the Williamson–Hall method. We found that the crystallites size increases as the co-doped (Fe-Ni) concentration is increased. However, microstrains of the nanocomposite films decreases as (Fe-Ni) concentration is increased. The optical properties of the (Fe-Ni) co-doped nanocomposite films are investigated by performing UV-Vis (250 nm–700 nm) spectrophotometer measurements. We found that as the (Fe-Ni) concentration level is steadily increased, transmittance of the undoped ZnO thin films is decreased. Remarkably, refractive index of undoped ZnO thin films is found to exhibit values extending from 1.55 to1.88 that would increase as (Fe-Ni) concentration is increased.

Enhanced Electron Transportation by Dye Doping in Very Low-Temperature (

A perylene bisimide functionalized with four 4-carboxyphenoxy substituents at bay area (PBI-COOH) was embedded in sol-gel-derived zinc oxide (ZnO) to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid photoconductive cathode interlayers (ZnO:PBI-COOH) that can be annealed at a rather low temperature of 120-130 °C as desired for plastic substrates for flexible devices. For these interlayers, the structural defects including oxygen vacancy and residual hydroxy groups are reduced that leads to increased electron mobility, and a photoinduced electron transfer from the organic dopant into the conduction band of ZnO endows the hybrid thin film with relatively higher conductivity when compared to the undoped ZnO thin film. The low-temperature-processed hybrid thin films were applied on indium tin oxide electrodes to produce inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) with power conversion efficiencies of 11.68 and 13.48% when using J71:ITIC and PBDB-T-2Cl:IT4F as active layers, respectively. Finally, flexible OSCs are fabricated on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates that maintained stability with relatively high performance after 100 times bending.

Tuning the polarization rotation behavior in undoped zinc oxide thin films

The control of polarization rotation (PR) is a key issue of applying undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) as information storage devices. A systematic study of ZnO thin films by conducting piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) technique on samples with different electrodes, film thicknesses, and deposition oxygen partial pressures, PO2 allows disclosing the possible factors those affecting the PR behavior. The results clearly indicate that higher work function conductive material, such as Pt, is a promising candidature as the top electrode and bottom electrode to ensure the PR occur and maintain in ZnO films. From the effects of film thickness study, PR behavior can be observed in film downscaled to 15 nm. However, in order to avoid current leakage and maintain the rotated polarization state, thicker film with about 240 nm is preferred. In addition, in the film deposited with a low PO2 (>5 × 10−6 Torr), more atomic point defects such as oxygen vacancy may lead the sample into a large leakage current and deteriorate the PR behavior. Hence, by this systematic study, it is proved that the PR behavior of undoped ZnO thin films can be optimized with proper deposition parameters.

STUDIES ON STRUCTURAL, SURFACE MORPHOLOGICAL, OPTICAL, LUMINESCENCE AND UV PHOTODETECTION PROPERTIES OF SOL–GEL Mg-DOPED ZnO THIN FILMS

Undoped and magnesium-doped zinc oxide thin films were prepared by the sol–gel method. Results from X-ray diffraction indicated that the films exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure and were highly oriented along the [Formula: see text]-axis. The intensity of the (002) diffraction peak increased with increasing the Mg doping concentration. Also, Mg doping inhibited the growth of crystallite size which decreased from 46[Formula: see text]nm to 38[Formula: see text]nm with doping concentration. Morphological studies by atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicated the uniform thin film growth and the decreasing of grain size and surface roughness with Mg doping. Optical analysis showed that the average transmittance of all films was above 90% in the visible range and Mg doping has significantly enhanced the bandgap energy of ZnO. Two Raman modes assigned to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for the ZnO wurtzite structure were observed for all films. UV emission peak and three defect emission peaks in the visible region were observed by photoluminescence measurements at room temperature. The intensity ratio of UV emission to the visible emission increased with the Mg concentration. Photocurrent measurements revealed that all films presented the photoresponses with [Formula: see text]-type semiconducting behavior and their generated photocurrents were reduced by Mg doping. The prepared thin films of high quality with improved properties by Mg doping could be proposed to workers in the field of optoelectronic devices for using them as a strong candidate.

Structural, morphological, composition and optical properties of undoped zinc oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis method: effect of solution concentrations

The aim of this paper is the study of transparent undoped zinc oxide thin films obtained by spray pyrolysis technique on glass substrates heated at 350 °C from 0.1 to 0.4 mol solution concentrations using zinc acetate dehydrate as precursor. The X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectrometry with respect to Urbach energy and wurtzite structure, show that the maximum value of the high frequency intensity E2 and the optimal value of the optical gap are obtained at 0.2 mol concentration. Furthermore, an appropriate transparency is obtained and that makes these films suitable for photovoltaic windows layer cells.

The effect of Sn on electrical performance of zinc oxide based thin film transistor

In this study, we have effectively fabricated undoped and Sn-doped zinc oxide thin film transistors (ZTO TFTs) with the back-gate structure on commercially purchased p-type Si with a thermally grown SiO2 layer (thickness = 100 nm). The ZTO TFTs were prepared via low-cost solution based spin coating method. We investigated the structural and morphological properties of thin films and the effect of Sn doping on the electrical performance of ZnO TFTs. It has been found that the electrical parameters of the ZnO based transistors have highly affected by Sn doping. The field-effect mobility and on/off ratio of doped TFT increased ~ 40 and 106 times by comparison with undoped TFT, respectively. The best results were obtained from 10% Sn doped ZTO TFT with 3.83 cm2 V−1 s−1 the field effect mobility (µsat), 1 V/dec subthreshold slope (SS), 9 V threshold voltage (Vth), 3 × 108 Ion/Ioff ratio and a high on-current of 1.3 mA.

ZnO THIN FILMS: RECENT DEVELOPMENT, FUTURE PERSPECTIVES AND APPLICATIONS FOR DYE SENSITIZED SOLAR CELL

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) provide promisingly, organic–inorganic, clean hybrid, cost effective and efficient molecular solar cell devices. Due to their distinct and multifunctional qualities, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are promising materials used to create photoanodes for DSSCs due to the availability of larger surface area than bulk sheet substance, effectual light-dispersing centers, and when mixed with titanium dioxide they produce a core–shell formation that diminishes the coalition rate and provide direct charge. Moreover, ZnO thin sheets have been broadly observed due of its potential application in various fields i.e. piezoelectric, photovoltaic, pyroelectric and optoelectronic utilization. This review studies the recent advances in the fabrication of zinc oxide-based photovoltaics; synthesis of ZnO nanostructures with variable morphologies including thin sheets, nanotubes, nanorods, nanoflowers, nanofibers and factors that control the growth and morphologies of these nanospecies and part of crystallographic planes for the fabrication of various zinc oxide nanoshapes. In the next part of this paper, numerous fabrication routes — doped and undoped ZnO thin films — are discussed and different parameters of photovoltaics are investigated, e.g. efficiency pre and post annealing temperatures, fill factors spinning speed and coating time, additives, nature of precursor which impacts on morphological and optical parameters of these sheets. In short, this review is dedicated to the ZnO photoanode, its properties, issues related to ZnO photoanode, various improvement approaches, fabrication methods successfully trialled so far followed by market potential of the DSSC technology, conclusion and recommendations