Title :
Earth abundant materials for high efficiency heterojunction thin film solar cells
Author :
Lee, Yun Seog ; Bertoni, Mariana ; Chan, Maria K. ; Ceder, Gerbrand ; Buonassisi, Tonio
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. Eng., Massachusetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
We investigate earth abundant materials for thin-film solar cells that can meet tens of terawatts level deployment potential. Candidate materials are identified by combinatorial search, large-scale electronic structure calculations, and literature reviews. We identified cuprous oxide (Cu2O) as a prototype candidate for investigation as an absorber layer in thin film solar cells. Cu2O thin films are deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering and characterized. In order to tailor electrical properties, we modify grain structure, and add defects that enhance electron transport, maintaining desired optical gap.
Keywords :
copper compounds; crystal microstructure; electrical resistivity; electronic structure; energy gap; optical constants; semiconductor growth; semiconductor materials; semiconductor thin films; sputter deposition; Cu2O; absorber layer; bandgap; cuprous oxide; defects; earth abundant materials; electrical properties; electron transport; grain structure; high efficiency heterojunction thin film solar cells; large-scale electronic structure calculations; optical gap; reactive DC magnetron sputtering; resistivity; Earth; Electron optics; Heterojunctions; Large-scale systems; Magnetosphere; Optical films; Photovoltaic cells; Prototypes; Sputtering; Transistors;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2009 34th IEEE
Conference_Location :
Philadelphia, PA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2949-3
Electronic_ISBN :
0160-8371
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2009.5411314
