Structural and Electrical Properties of Electrodeposited Single Junction of Cuprous (I) Oxide-Copper

E. Rówiński and M. Pławecki Institute of Materials Science, University of Silesia, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1A, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland

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Cuprous (I) oxide (Cu2O)-based solar cells were fabricated with the use of the electrodeposition technique at nanometre-scale, and the structural, morphological and electrical properties were investigated. The Cu2O layers were electrodeposited on crystalline and polycrystalline copper substrates. To complete the Cu2O/Cu(100) and Cu2O/Cu interfaces as the solar cells the top electrodes of silver paste were painted on the rear of Cu2O. The microscopic analysis exhibits uneven surface morphologies of a Cu2O film with the roughness of 92.5 nm, while the X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the layers are Cu2O-type polycrystalline structures with the thickness of 493 nm and the crystallite size of 69.8(6) nm. The theoretical analysis of the current-voltage curve was provided to determine the values of electrical parameters of the most efficient solar cell of Ag/Cu2O/Cu(100) and clearly indicate presence of two Schottky barriers at interfaces.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.130.1141 PACS numbers: 61.05.cp, 73.50.Pz, 73.40.Sx