https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04846-w
Regular Article
N-type In (or Al) doped Cu2O thin films by magnetron sputtering
1
Department of Physics, School of Advanced Sciences, Vellore Institute of Technology, 632014, Vellore, India
2
Department of Sensor and Biomedical Technology, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, 632014, Vellore, India
Received:
28
October
2023
Accepted:
27
December
2023
Published online:
19
January
2024
The ultimate aim of this work is to achieve cation (In/Al) doped stable n-type Cu2O thin films via industrially viable magnetron sputtering technique. The deposited thin films’ structural, optical and electrical characteristics have been investigated in light of their prospective application as solar cell buffer layers. The optical emission spectroscopy confirms the presence of cationic dopants in the plasma. X-ray diffraction and Raman studies confirm the cubic Cu2O structure without any kind of secondary phases. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, both the dopants are present in + 3 oxidation states The surface morphology and grain size/shape have been studied using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The transmittance spectroscopy was used to evaluate optical properties and the corresponding absorption coefficient was found to be 105–106 cm−1 for all the films. The radiative defects in Cu2O have been identified via photoluminescence spectroscopy. Hall effect measurement confirms the feasibility of changing the conductivity of Cu2O from p-type to n-type by cationic dopants with an increase in carrier density from 1014 to 1017 cm−3. The work function of p-Cu2O, n-(3.12%)In:Cu2O and n-(2.25%)Al:Cu2O thin films were found to be 4.85 eV, 4.24 eV and 4.15 eV respectively using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The fabricated Mo/p-Cu2O/n-(In/Al):Cu2O/n-AZO solar cells show a rectification curve with a very low open circuit voltage (VOC) under light indicating the photovoltaic behaviour.
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