Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology
This work presents the implementation of ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> films, deposited at room temperature by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, as electron-selective contacts in silicon heterojunction solar cells. The effect of the working pressure on the properties of the TiO<sub>...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/14/2441 |
| _version_ | 1797416611255156736 |
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| author | Susana Fernández Ignacio Torres José Javier Gandía |
| author_facet | Susana Fernández Ignacio Torres José Javier Gandía |
| author_sort | Susana Fernández |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This work presents the implementation of ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> films, deposited at room temperature by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, as electron-selective contacts in silicon heterojunction solar cells. The effect of the working pressure on the properties of the TiO<sub>2</sub> layers and its subsequent impact on the main parameters of the device are studied. The material characterization revealed an amorphous structure regardless of the working pressure; a rougher surface; and a blue shift in bandgap in the TiO<sub>2</sub> layer deposited at the highest-pressure value of 0.89 Pa. When incorporated as part of the passivated full-area electron contact in silicon heterojunction solar cell, the chemical passivation provided by the intrinsic a-Si:H rapidly deteriorates upon the sputtering of the ultra-thin TiO<sub>2</sub> films, although a short anneal is shown to restore much of the passivation lost. The deposition pressure and film thicknesses proved to be critical for the efficiency of the devices. The film thicknesses below 2 nm are necessary to reach open-circuit values above 660 mV, regardless of the deposition pressure. More so, the fill-factor showed a strong dependence on deposition pressure, with the best values obtained for the highest deposition pressure, which we correlated to the porosity of the films. Overall, these results show the potential to fabricate silicon solar cells with a simple implementation of electron-selective TiO<sub>2</sub> contact deposited by magnetron sputtering. These results show the potential to fabricate silicon solar cells with a simple implementation of electron-selective TiO<sub>2</sub> contact. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:06:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c87fbfc7b74347b3903ce2d367c869d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:06:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-c87fbfc7b74347b3903ce2d367c869d72023-12-03T12:03:28ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912022-07-011214244110.3390/nano12142441Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell TechnologySusana Fernández0Ignacio Torres1José Javier Gandía2Departamento de Energía, CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Energía, CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Energía, CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, SpainThis work presents the implementation of ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> films, deposited at room temperature by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, as electron-selective contacts in silicon heterojunction solar cells. The effect of the working pressure on the properties of the TiO<sub>2</sub> layers and its subsequent impact on the main parameters of the device are studied. The material characterization revealed an amorphous structure regardless of the working pressure; a rougher surface; and a blue shift in bandgap in the TiO<sub>2</sub> layer deposited at the highest-pressure value of 0.89 Pa. When incorporated as part of the passivated full-area electron contact in silicon heterojunction solar cell, the chemical passivation provided by the intrinsic a-Si:H rapidly deteriorates upon the sputtering of the ultra-thin TiO<sub>2</sub> films, although a short anneal is shown to restore much of the passivation lost. The deposition pressure and film thicknesses proved to be critical for the efficiency of the devices. The film thicknesses below 2 nm are necessary to reach open-circuit values above 660 mV, regardless of the deposition pressure. More so, the fill-factor showed a strong dependence on deposition pressure, with the best values obtained for the highest deposition pressure, which we correlated to the porosity of the films. Overall, these results show the potential to fabricate silicon solar cells with a simple implementation of electron-selective TiO<sub>2</sub> contact deposited by magnetron sputtering. These results show the potential to fabricate silicon solar cells with a simple implementation of electron-selective TiO<sub>2</sub> contact.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/14/2441titanium dioxidemagnetron sputteringelectron transport layersilicon heterojunction solar cells |
| spellingShingle | Susana Fernández Ignacio Torres José Javier Gandía Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology Nanomaterials titanium dioxide magnetron sputtering electron transport layer silicon heterojunction solar cells |
| title | Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology |
| title_full | Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology |
| title_fullStr | Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology |
| title_short | Sputtered Ultrathin TiO<sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology |
| title_sort | sputtered ultrathin tio sub 2 sub as electron transport layer in silicon heterojunction solar cell technology |
| topic | titanium dioxide magnetron sputtering electron transport layer silicon heterojunction solar cells |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/12/14/2441 |
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