Ethanol-enriched low-pressure chemical vapor deposition ZnO bilayers: Properties and growth—A potential electrode for thin film solar cells
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Ethanol is used as a precursor during the growth of zinc oxide (ZnO) by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). By adding ethanol, the surface of the deposited ZnO layer is flattened and its roughness is decreased about sevenfold. The layers become increasingly stressed and their resistivity grows significantly. We propose an explanation for the observed behavior based on the catalytic decomposition of ethanol at the ZnO surface and on the growth of selected crystal planes. By using ethanol for the last 10% of the total ZnO layer growth only, sheet resistance is maintained and roughness is slightly decreased. Our results indicate that such LPCVD ZnO bilayers could be a promising method to modify the ZnO surface morphology before cell deposition, thus, providing an alternative to argon plasma treatment, which is typically reported to improve solar cell parameters such as open-circuit voltage and fill factor.
Source: Journal of Applied Physics
DOI: 10.1063/1.4775483
Institution: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Language: English
Topic: ZnO doping and properties
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1982904175