Boron-doped diamond-like amorphous carbon as photovoltaic films in solar cell

In this paper, the photovoltaic feature of metal-boron carbide-silicon (MCS) solar cell was reported. The boron-doped diamond-like carbon thin film on n-silicon substrate has been prepared using arc-discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) technique. The conductivity and the resistivity of the film were measured by Bio-Rad Hall5500PC system to be p-type semiconductor and 3–12 Ω cm/□, respectively. The boron content in the films was about 0.8–1.2%, obtained from Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and some microcrystalline diamond grains (0.5–1.0 μm) embedded in the mainly amorphous network were revealed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectrum. The performance of Au/C(B)/n-Si heterojunction solar cells has been given under dark I–V rectifying curve and I–V working curve (with 100 mW cm−2 illumination). A measurement of open-circuit voltage Voc=580 mV and short-circuit current density Jsc=32.5 mA cm−2 was obtained. Accordingly, the energy conversion efficiency of the device was tentatively determined to be about 7.9% in AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm2 illuminated.