The electronic properties of an InN/anatse-TiO 2 bilayer, proposed as a replacement for the dye/semi-conductor interface in Dye Sensitized Solar Cell[1, 2], are measured. RF sputtered thin films of TiO 2 and InN are used as the "dye" replacement. . Two types of InN film are prepared: polycrystalline samples deposited at high temperature, with an optical band gap of < 1 eV, and as-deposited (at least partially amorphous) samples with an optical band gap >1 eV. Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence, X-ray Diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy are used to characterize the samples. The sample resistance is measured in the dark and under illumination. The samples deposited at high temperature are crystalline and have a sheet resistivity ≈ 4 Ω /□, and display no photoconductivity. The partially amorphous samples have sheet resistivity of ≈ 500Ω/□. Since both types of InN films, including high quality (based on band gap) polycrystalline InN, do not show increased conductivity with light, we conclude that a solar cell based on an InN/TiO 2 bilayer is not feasible.

InGaN films were successfully fabricated using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique with a sputtering target of pure In and Ga metal alloys under a flow of nitrogen. Films were deposited on quartz substrates, with the ratio of In to Ga varied from 0.46 to 0.85 in the alloys. The structures and compositions have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively. Multiple crystallographic phases have been observed indicating phase segregation and inhomogeneous distribution of the metal compositions in the films. The existence of wurtzite structures has been observed in all samples, with the In percentage (y) in a crystalline phase calculated from the XRD being less than the total In percentage (x) in each film as determined by the EDX spectroscopy. The (0002) orientation has been observed in all films, and the (10-11) orientation has been observed for x = 0.46 and 0.70 only. The optical transmission and absorbance of the films were studied by the spectrophotometry technique, which indicate that the dominant phases in all samples are amorphous. Consequently, the corresponding optical bandgaps have been characterized. Hall Effect measurements were made in 0.55 T magnetic field at room temperature to characterize the electrical conductivity, free carrier concentration, and mobility.