Amorphous carbon solar cell deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H) were deposited on p-type silicon substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique using a mixture of graphite and camphor powders. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) measurement revealed the presence of hydrogen in the a-C:H films. The formation of a heterojunction between the a-C:H film and silicon substrate was confirmed by the current-voltage (I-V) measurement. The structure of a-C:H/p-Si showed photovoltaic characteristics with an open-circuit voltage (V/sub oc/) of 0.4 V and short-circuit current density (J/sub sc/) of about 15 mA/cm/sup 2/ under illumination (AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm/sup 2/). From the calculation, the energy conversion efficiency and fill factor were found to be 2.1% and 0.38, respectively. The carbon layer contributed to the energy conversion efficiency, which was proved by the measurement of quantum efficiency.