Transition metal oxides as hole-selective contacts in silicon heterojunctions solar cells

This work reports on a comparative study comprising three transition metal oxides, MoO3, WO3 and V2O5, acting as front p-type contacts for n-type crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells. Owing to their high work functions (>5 eV) and wide energy band gaps, these oxides act as transparent h...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Gerling Sarabia, Luis Guillermo, Mahato, Somnath, Morales-Vilches, Ana Belén, Masmitjà Rusiñol, Gerard|||0000-0001-9541-7586, Ortega Villasclaras, Pablo Rafael|||0000-0001-6577-614X, Voz Sánchez, Cristóbal|||0000-0002-0320-9606, Alcubilla González, Ramón|||0000-0003-4827-4513, Puigdollers i González, Joaquim|||0000-0002-1834-2565
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/90412
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/90412
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2015.08.028
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Solar cells
Silicon heterojunction
Transition metal oxide
Carrier selective contact
Cèl·lules solars
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Energia solar fotovoltaica::Cèl·lules solars
Descripción
Sumario:This work reports on a comparative study comprising three transition metal oxides, MoO3, WO3 and V2O5, acting as front p-type contacts for n-type crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells. Owing to their high work functions (>5 eV) and wide energy band gaps, these oxides act as transparent hole-selective contacts with semiconductive properties that are determined by oxygen-vacancy defects (MoO3-x), as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the fabricated hybrid structures, 15 nm thick transition metal oxide layers were deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation. Of all three devices, the V2O5/n-silicon heterojunction performed the best with a conversion efficiency of 15.7% and an open-circuit voltage of 606 mV, followed by MoO3 (13.6%) and WO3 (12.5%). These results bring into view a new silicon heterojunction solar cell concept with advantages such as the absence of toxic dopant gases and a simplified low-temperature fabrication process.