11.6 % Efficient textured InP solar cell with Nb2O5: A cutting-edge electron transport layer innovation

IF 2 4区材料科学 Q3 MATERIALS SCIENCE, COATINGS & FILMS

Thin Solid Films Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2024.140577

Mukaddar Sk , Gourav , K. Ramachandran

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Abstract

Enhancing the efficiency of solar cells depends on minimizing reflection losses to boost photon absorption. In this study, we investigated the chemical etching process of pristine InP(100), (named as pris-InP(100)). Our findings demonstrate that the etching process resulted in a self-organizing V-groove microstructure, as revealed by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This induced V-groove microstructure resulted a significant reduction in the reflection loss. Through temporal variation in the etching process, we identified that a 5-minute etch (named as etch5-InP(100)), yielded the lowest reflectance. Additionally, radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was employed to deposit a 10 nm Nb₂O₅ thin film on both pris-InP (100) and etch5-InP (100) samples. The results indicated that the thin film on etch5-InP(100) exhibited significantly lower reflectance compared to pris-InP(100). Moreover, ab-initio calculations verified the stability and presence of native oxide at the interface of the Nb₂O₅/InP(100) heterostructure. Furthermore, dark current-voltage (I-V) characteristics indicated typical diode behaviour for both Nb₂O₅ thin films deposited on pris-InP(100) and etch5-InP(100). Notably, light I-V measurements revealed that the Nb₂O₅ thin film on etch5-InP(100) achieved a higher efficiency of 11.6 % compared to the 8.7 % efficiency of pris-InP(100). This study provides valuable insights and guidelines for the development of high-efficiency InP-based solar cells.

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采用Nb2O5的11.6%高效纹理InP太阳能电池：一种前沿的电子传输层创新

提高太阳能电池的效率取决于最大限度地减少反射损失，以促进光子吸收。在本研究中，我们研究了原始InP(100)（命名为prisi -InP(100)）的化学蚀刻过程。我们的研究结果表明，蚀刻过程产生了自组织的v型槽微观结构，正如原子力显微镜和扫描电镜所显示的那样。这种诱导的v型槽微结构显著降低了反射损耗。通过蚀刻过程的时间变化，我们发现5分钟的蚀刻（命名为etch5-InP(100)）产生最低的反射率。此外，采用射频磁控溅射技术在prisi - inp（100）和etch5-InP（100）样品上沉积了10 nm的Nb2O5薄膜。结果表明，etch5-InP（100）薄膜的反射率明显低于prisi - inp（100）薄膜。此外，ab-initio计算验证了Nb2O5/InP（100）异质结构界面上天然氧化物的存在和稳定性。此外，暗电流-电压（I-V）特性表明，在prisi - inp（100）和etch5-InP（100）上沉积的Nb2O5薄膜具有典型的二极管行为。值得注意的是，光I-V测量显示，etch5-InP（100）上的Nb2O5薄膜的效率为11.6%，而prisi - inp（100）的效率为8.7%。该研究为高效inp基太阳能电池的开发提供了有价值的见解和指导。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Thin Solid Films 工程技术-材料科学：膜

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

4.80%

发文量

381

审稿时长

7.5 months

期刊介绍： Thin Solid Films is an international journal which serves scientists and engineers working in the fields of thin-film synthesis, characterization, and applications. The field of thin films, which can be defined as the confluence of materials science, surface science, and applied physics, has become an identifiable unified discipline of scientific endeavor.