Malkeshkumar Patel

Structural, optical and electrical properties of spray-deposited CZTS thin films under a non-equilibrium growth condition

Spray pyrolysed thin films of quaternary Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) were successfully deposited on soda lime glass substrates at 320 °C under a non-equilibrium condition (by varying Zn, Sn and S precursor concentrations) and without additional sulfurization. The effect of deficiency and enrichment of these three elements (normalized with respect to Cu) on the films microstrain, optical band-gap and Hall mobility was investigated. A large non-uniform microstrain of (5–6) × 10−3 and compressive nature were observed for both Zn- and Sn-enriched films from Williamson–Hall analysis of x-ray diffraction (XRD) data. However, a tensile strain of (2–3) × 10−3 was revealed in Sn-poor and S-rich samples. The optical band-gap (Eg) in stoichiometric CZTS was found to be 1.45 eV and Hall mobility (μH) in the range 87–92 cm2 V−1 s−1 was observed for S- and Zn-enriched films. The tensile nature of microstrain and inhomogeneities in Eg and μH were observed with greater magnitude due to the existence of other secondary phases, which were confirmed complementarily by FTIR spectroscopy and XRD.

Magnetron sputtered Cu doped SnS thin films for improved photoelectrochemical and heterojunction solar cells

Tin(II) sulfide (SnS) is a promising low cost photovoltaic material due to its favorable direct optical band gap (∼1.3 eV) and high absorption coefficient (>104 cm−1). However, SnS solar cells are reported to have low efficiency due to band misalignment that can be reduced by the proper optimization of acceptor concentration in p-SnS. This work describes the effect of extrinsic Cu doping in sprayed SnS thin films on SnO2:F glass for a possible enhancement in the photocurrent in photoelectrochemical cells and the open circuit voltage in heterojunction solar cells. The structural, morphological, optical and photoelectrochemical properties of the Cu:SnS films are studied in detail. A process temperature of 325 °C was found to be optimum for Cu doping at the Sn vacancies in the host lattice. An improvement in the photocurrent density from 1.1 mA cm−2 to 1.8 mA cm−2 was observed in the photoelectrochemical cell prepared by this doping process. A further enhancement in photocurrent of up to 3.2 mA cm−2 was shown when the residual surface Cu was removed by HCl etching. The developed Cu:SnS heterojunction solar cell showed a record open circuit voltage of 462 mV with In2S3 as a buffer layer.

Active Adoption of Void Formation in Metal-Oxide for All Transparent Super-Performing Photodetectors.

Could ‘defect-considered’ void formation in metal-oxide be actively used? Is it possible to realize stable void formation in a metal-oxide layer, beyond unexpected observations, for functional utilization? Herein we demonstrate the effective tailoring of void formation of NiO for ultra-sensitive UV photodetection. NiO was formed onto pre-sputtered ZnO for a large size and spontaneously formed abrupt p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction device. To form voids at an interface, rapid thermal process was performed, resulting in highly visible light transparency (85–95%). This heterojunction provides extremely low saturation current (<0.1 nA) with an extraordinary rectifying ratio value of over 3000 and works well without any additional metal electrodes. Under UV illumination, we can observe the fast photoresponse time (10 ms) along with the highest possible responsivity (1.8 A W−1) and excellent detectivity (2 × 1013 Jones) due to the existence of an intrinsic-void layer at the interface. We consider this as the first report on metal-oxide-based void formation (Kirkendall effect) for effective photoelectric device applications. We propose that the active adoption of ‘defect-considered’ Kirkendall-voids will open up a new era for metal-oxide based photoelectric devices.

Study of the junction and carrier lifetime properties of a spray-deposited CZTS thin-film solar cell

The Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin-film solar cell fabricated entirely by a spray pyrolysis process was investigated under diffused white light in the present study. A CdS layer was developed as a heterojunction partner. The structural, morphological and photovoltaic characterization of an as-prepared stoichiometric CZTS film was carried out. The diode ideality factor n was found to be in the range of 1.2–5.6 in the forward bias region and it is explained by the Frenkel–Poole conduction model. The solar cell exhibited open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 157.25 mV, short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 3.024 mA cm−2 and fill factor (FF) of 24.77% at an incident irradiance of 200 W m−2 from the white LED source. The effective minority carrier lifetime of 263 μs was confirmed by the open-circuit voltage decay fitting under pulsed monochromatic LED excitation.

Thermally Stable Silver Nanowires-Embedding Metal Oxide for Schottky Junction Solar Cells

Thermally stable silver nanowires (AgNWs)-embedding metal oxide was applied for Schottky junction solar cells without an intentional doping process in Si. A large scale (100 mm(2)) Schottky solar cell showed a power conversion efficiency of 6.1% under standard illumination, and 8.3% under diffused illumination conditions which is the highest efficiency for AgNWs-involved Schottky junction Si solar cells. Indium-tin-oxide (ITO)-capped AgNWs showed excellent thermal stability with no deformation at 500 °C. The top ITO layer grew in a cylindrical shape along the AgNWs, forming a teardrop shape. The design of ITO/AgNWs/ITO layers is optically beneficial because the AgNWs generate plasmonic photons, due to the AgNWs. Electrical investigations were performed by Mott-Schottky and impedance spectroscopy to reveal the formation of a single space charge region at the interface between Si and AgNWs-embedding ITO layer. We propose a route to design the thermally stable AgNWs for photoelectric device applications with investigation of the optical and electrical aspects.

Evaluation of Back Contact in Spray Deposited SnS Thin Film Solar Cells by Impedance Analysis

The role of back metal (M) contact in sprayed SnS thin film solar cells with a configuration Glass/F:SnO2/In2S3/SnS/M (M = Graphite, Cu, Mo, and Ni) was analyzed and discussed in the present study. Impedance spectroscopy was employed by incorporating constant phase elements (CPE) in the equivalent circuit to investigate the degree of inhomogeneity associated with the heterojunction and M/SnS interfaces. A best fit to Nyquist plot revealed a CPE exponent close to unity for thermally evaporated Cu, making it an ideal back contact. The Bode phase plot also exhibited a higher degree of disorders associated with other M/SnS interfaces. The evaluation scheme is useful for other emerging solar cells developed from low cost processing schemes like spray deposition, spin coating, slurry casting, electrodeposition, etc.

Silver nanowires-templated metal oxide for broadband Schottky photodetector

Silver nanowires (AgNWs)-templated transparent metal oxide layer was applied for Si Schottky junction device, which remarked the record fastest photoresponse of 3.4 μs. Self-operating AgNWs-templated Schottky photodetector showed broad wavelength photodetection with high responsivity (42.4 A W−1) and detectivity (2.75 × 1015 Jones). AgNWs-templated indium-tin-oxide (ITO) showed band-to-band excitation due to the internal photoemission, resulting in significant carrier collection performances. Functional metal oxide layer was formed by AgNWs-templated from ITO structure. The grown ITO above AgNWs has a cylindrical shape and acts as a thermal protector of AgNWs for high temperature environment without any deformation. We developed thermal stable AgNWs-templated transparent oxide devices and demonstrated the working mechanism of AgNWs-templated Schottky devices. We may propose the high potential of hybrid transparent layer design for various photoelectric applications, including solar cells.

Front surface field formation for majority carriers by functional p-NiO layer employed Si solar cell

An optically transparent and electrically conductive p-NiO layer was deposited on a conventional n-Si/p-Si solar cell, which improved the device performance. The transmittance and reflectance properties of the p-NiO layer were found to be much better than the SiNx layer in the visible light region. Impedance spectroscopic study under varying bias and illumination conditions was carried out to understand the underlying mechanisms governing the device performance. An AC signal analysis revealed that the p-NiO layer acted as a front surface field region for majority charge carriers. In addition, the p-NiO layer significantly improved Si solar cell performances due to the improved properties of parasitic resistances. The optically transparent NiO layered Si device (p-NiO/n-Si/p-Si) spontaneously enhanced the electrical properties, resulting in the substantially improved fill factor value of 74% from 34.3% of the bare n-Si/p-Si device. The existence of a front surface field increased the lifetime of carriers t...

Optical and electrical properties of Cu-based all oxide semi-transparent photodetector

Zero-bias operating Cu oxide-based photodetector was achieved by using large-scale available sputtering method. Cu oxide (Cu2O or CuO) was used as p-type transparent layer to form a heterojunction by contacting n-type ZnO layer. All metal-oxide materials were employed to realize transparent device at room temperature and showed a high transparency (>75% at 600 nm) with excellent photoresponses. The structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of Cu oxides of CuO and Cu2O are evaluated in depth by UV-visible spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and Hall measurements. We may suggest a route of high-functional Cu oxide-based photoelectric devices for the applications in flexible and transparent electronics.

Photocurrent Enhancement by a Rapid Thermal Treatment of Nanodisk-Shaped SnS Photocathodes

Photocathodes made from the earth-abundant, ecofriendly mineral tin monosulfide (SnS) can be promising candidates for p/n-type photoelectrochemical cells because they meet the strict requirements of energy band edges for each individual photoelectrode. Herein we fabricated SnS-based cell that exhibited a prolonged photocurrent for 3 h at -0.3 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in a 0.1 M HCl electrolyte. An enhancement of the cathodic photocurrent from 2 to 6 mA cm-2 is observed through a rapid thermal treatment. Mott-Schottky analysis of SnS samples revealed an anodic shift of 0.7 V in the flat band potential under light illumination. Incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) analysis indicates that an efficient charge transfer appropriate for solar hydrogen generation occurs at the -0.3 V vs RHE potential. This work shows that SnS is a promising material for photocathode in PEC cells and its performance can be enhanced via simple postannealing.