Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification
Cuprous oxide (Cu<sub>2</sub>O) homojunction thin films on Ti substrates were fabricated by an electrochemical deposition in which a <i>p</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer was deposited on an <i>n</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer by carefully controlled b...
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Crystals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/7/609 |
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| author | Charith Jayathilaka Loku Singgappulige Rosantha Kumara Koji Ohara Chulho Song Shinji Kohara Osami Sakata Withana Siripala Sumedha Jayanetti |
| author_facet | Charith Jayathilaka Loku Singgappulige Rosantha Kumara Koji Ohara Chulho Song Shinji Kohara Osami Sakata Withana Siripala Sumedha Jayanetti |
| author_sort | Charith Jayathilaka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cuprous oxide (Cu<sub>2</sub>O) homojunction thin films on Ti substrates were fabricated by an electrochemical deposition in which a <i>p</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer was deposited on an <i>n</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer by carefully controlled bath conditions. It was found that the open-circuit voltage of the homojunction solar cell was significantly influenced by the pH of the lactate bath. The variation of the pH was used to achieve the best possible crystal orientation for homojunctions. The crystallinity and morphology of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-energy x-ray diffraction (HEXRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The current density voltage (J-V) analysis showed that the sulfur treatment and annealing enhanced the photocurrent by ten-fold compared to the untreated and unannealed homojunction solar cell. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies confirmed that the sulfur treatment eliminated the surface CuO and formed a thin layer of CuS, which was very useful to make the front Ohmic contact. Transient measurements confirmed that the <i>p</i>-type Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer, which was subjected to sulfur treatment, significantly reduced the recombination, thus enhancing the efficiency of the solar cell. The best sulfur treated annealed Ti/<i>n</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/<i>p</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au solar cell produced an energy conversion efficiency of 2.64% with an open-circuit voltage of 490 mV and a short circuit current density of 12.8 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> under AM 1.5 illumination. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:30:31Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
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| series | Crystals |
| spelling | doaj.art-63777ce1194c4139a3b3e7e61a7bbbc12023-11-20T06:38:32ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522020-07-0110760910.3390/cryst10070609Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface ModificationCharith Jayathilaka0Loku Singgappulige Rosantha Kumara1Koji Ohara2Chulho Song3Shinji Kohara4Osami Sakata5Withana Siripala6Sumedha Jayanetti7Department of Physics and Electronics, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya 11600, Sri LankaSynchrotron X-ray Station at SPring-8, Research Network and Facility Services Division, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, JapanCenter for Synchrotron Radiation Research, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, JapanSynchrotron X-ray Station at SPring-8, Research Network and Facility Services Division, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, JapanCenter for Synchrotron Radiation Research, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, JapanSynchrotron X-ray Station at SPring-8, Research Network and Facility Services Division, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5148, JapanDepartment of Physics and Electronics, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya 11600, Sri LankaDepartment of Physics, University of Colombo, Colombo 00700, Sri LankaCuprous oxide (Cu<sub>2</sub>O) homojunction thin films on Ti substrates were fabricated by an electrochemical deposition in which a <i>p</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer was deposited on an <i>n</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer by carefully controlled bath conditions. It was found that the open-circuit voltage of the homojunction solar cell was significantly influenced by the pH of the lactate bath. The variation of the pH was used to achieve the best possible crystal orientation for homojunctions. The crystallinity and morphology of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-energy x-ray diffraction (HEXRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The current density voltage (J-V) analysis showed that the sulfur treatment and annealing enhanced the photocurrent by ten-fold compared to the untreated and unannealed homojunction solar cell. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies confirmed that the sulfur treatment eliminated the surface CuO and formed a thin layer of CuS, which was very useful to make the front Ohmic contact. Transient measurements confirmed that the <i>p</i>-type Cu<sub>2</sub>O layer, which was subjected to sulfur treatment, significantly reduced the recombination, thus enhancing the efficiency of the solar cell. The best sulfur treated annealed Ti/<i>n</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/<i>p</i>-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au solar cell produced an energy conversion efficiency of 2.64% with an open-circuit voltage of 490 mV and a short circuit current density of 12.8 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> under AM 1.5 illumination.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/7/609cuprous oxideelectrodepositionhomojunctionHEXRD patternssurface treatmentJ-V characteristic |
| spellingShingle | Charith Jayathilaka Loku Singgappulige Rosantha Kumara Koji Ohara Chulho Song Shinji Kohara Osami Sakata Withana Siripala Sumedha Jayanetti Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification Crystals cuprous oxide electrodeposition homojunction HEXRD patterns surface treatment J-V characteristic |
| title | Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification |
| title_full | Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification |
| title_fullStr | Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification |
| title_short | Enhancement of Solar Cell Performance of Electrodeposited Ti/n-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/p-Cu<sub>2</sub>O/Au Homojunction Solar Cells by Interface and Surface Modification |
| title_sort | enhancement of solar cell performance of electrodeposited ti n cu sub 2 sub o p cu sub 2 sub o au homojunction solar cells by interface and surface modification |
| topic | cuprous oxide electrodeposition homojunction HEXRD patterns surface treatment J-V characteristic |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/7/609 |
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