Nanometer-Thick MgxZn(1–x)O Ternary Films for Photovoltaics

Mg-doped ZnO (MZO) photoanodes in dyesensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are intended to increase the opencircuit voltage V OC and boost the power conversion efficiency. However, unintended side effects of the Mg incorporation into ZnO, such as increased transport resistance and recombination rate, commonly outweigh the benefits by reducing the short-circuit current J SC . In this work, we resolve this issue by synergizing the large band-gap energy of MZO with the fast electron transport of ZnO, thus significantly increasing the power conversion efficiency. Atomic Layer Deposition enables the successful fabrication of the required core−shell structures consisting of pure nanoparticulate ZnO films as cores with homogeneous MZO shells. We find a significant increase of the open-circuit voltage, while largely avoiding losses of the short-circuit current. The transport resistance in the cells slightly decreases up to 10 at. % Mg in the shells, and it increases only slightly for Mg concentrations as high as 20 at. %. Our work demonstrates the advantages of mixed architectures consisting of a pure matrix modified by a well-controlled thin active layer. Optimization of cells with such high photovoltages offers a promising pathway toward significantly improved concepts for DSSCs.

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Role of ZnO and MgO interfaces on the growth and optoelectronic properties of atomic layer deposited Zn1−xMgxO films

Gnanasambandan

Adjeroud

Leturcq

2022

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A

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Zn[Formula: see text]Mg[Formula: see text]O films with very precise Mg content are of strong interest for the development of buffer layers on copper-indium-gallium-sulfide solar cells. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been successfully used for buffer layers with appropriate electronic properties; however, a good understanding of the growth properties of the ternary oxide is still lacking. Here, we investigate the role of the ZnO/MgO interface on the growth and resulting optoelectronic properties by varying the supercycle parameters (pulse ratio and bilayer period) of the ALD process. We demonstrate that the growth of the MgO layer is enhanced by the ZnO surface, describing the interplay between ZnO and MgO interfaces on the growth of Zn[Formula: see text]Mg[Formula: see text]O films. The optical properties of the film not only depend on the Mg content but also on the bilayer period at a given Mg content. More specifically, the bandgap for a given Mg composition is high for the smallest bilayer period 5, starts decreasing slightly for bilayer periods between 10 and 20 due to the increase in thickness of the ZnO layer and confinement effects, and falls to a bandgap of ZnO as the bilayer period increases further [Formula: see text]. With the change in Zn[Formula: see text]Mg[Formula: see text]O films from well-mixed to multilayer material as the bilayer period is varied, we illustrate that the optical properties of Zn[Formula: see text]Mg[Formula: see text]O can be tuned effectively without largely altering the composition. Probing the effect of the bilayer period on the ternary oxides by ALD is a useful tool in understanding the mixing and interplay of binary materials that can be applied for many other materials.

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Nanometer-Thick Mg_xZn_(1–x)O Ternary Films for Photovoltaics

Cited by 3 publications

References 30 publications

Growth characteristics and properties of RuAlO hybrid films fabricated by atomic layer deposition

Growth characteristics and properties of RuAlO hybrid films fabricated by atomic layer deposition

Harnessing the Potential of Porous ZnO Photoanodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells by Atomic Layer Deposition of Mg-Doped ZnO

Role of ZnO and MgO interfaces on the growth and optoelectronic properties of atomic layer deposited Zn1−xMgxO films

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