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Efficiency enhanced solar cells with a Cu2O homojunction grown epitaxially on p-Cu2O:Na sheets by electrochemical deposition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2016

Tadatsugu Minami*
Affiliation:
Optoelectronic Device System R&D Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501, Japan
Jouji Yamazaki
Affiliation:
Optoelectronic Device System R&D Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501, Japan
Toshihiro Miyata
Affiliation:
Optoelectronic Device System R&D Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501, Japan
*
Address all correspondence to at Tadatsugu Minami at minami@neptune.kanazawa-it.ac.jp
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Abstract

The Cu2O homojunction was formed by epitaxially growing a manganese-doped Cu2O (Cu2O:Mn) thin film on thermally oxidized polycrystalline p-type sodium-doped Cu2O (p-Cu2O:Na) sheets by electrochemical deposition. A significant improvement of photovoltaic properties was achieved in solar cells fabricated by inserting a Cu2O:Mn thin film between an Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent electrode and p-Cu2O:Na sheets. The photovoltaic properties obtained in AZO/Cu2O:Mn/p-Cu2O:Na solar cells were controlled by changing the Mn content doped into the Cu2O:Mn thin film. An efficiency of 4.21% was obtained in an AZO/Cu2O:Mn/p-Cu2O:Na solar cell fabricated with a Cu2O:Mn thin film that was identified as an i-type semiconductor.

Type
Research Letters
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

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