Role of substrate and annealing temperature on the structure of ZnO and AlxZn1−xO thin films for solar cell applications

Nambala, Fred Joe; Nel, Jackie M.; Machatine, Augusto Gonçalo Jose; Mwakikunga, Bonex W.; Njoroge, E.G.; Maabong, Kelebogile; Das, A.G.M.; Diale, M.

doi:10.1016/j.physb.2015.09.022

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(48 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The elongation at break was 265% [68]. Nambala et al [69] studied the performances of ZnO and 5 at% Al-doped ZnO on glass and n-Si (111) backsheets by XRD, RBS, DRS and other techniques and found that the type of backsheets affected the crystallinity of the functional layers via interface effects, which thus affected the performance of the solar cells. The use of different materials and parameters for the protection and backsheet layers can also achieve mechanical improvement of solar cells.…”

Section: Mechanical Properties Of Protection and Backsheet Layersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on mechanical behavior of solar cells for building integrated photovoltaics

Guo¹

2021

Sustain. Struct.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The energy crisis and environmental pollution have promoted the rapid development of renewable solar technology. Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is an important field for the future development of solar energy. This review presents the mechanical property studies of existing BIPV and analyzes its research status to offer advice for engineering applications. By analyzing the types and mechanical characteristics of solar cells in the existing BIPV and determining the load conditions that need to be considered in different application modes, this paper summarizes the relevant existing studies at the photovoltaic material, cell and component levels and offers corresponding suggestions for mechanical research, which consequently results in the proposal of a new BIPV structure. Since the mechanical properties of BIPV have seldom been studied, and research on practical engineering applications is lacking, further comprehensive and in-depth research is needed to promote the safe and reliable application and popularization of photovoltaic building integration.

show abstract

Section: Mechanical Properties Of Protection and Backsheet Layersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on mechanical behavior of solar cells for building integrated photovoltaics

Guo¹

2021

Sustain. Struct.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“… Schematic illustration of Au/ZnO NR/n-Si junction energy band diagram calculated using the SCAPS [ 34 ] simulation program. The electron affinities of Si (4.05 eV) and ZnO (4.35 eV), bandgaps of Si (1.12 eV) and ZnO (3.25 eV), and work function of Au (5.1 eV) were used in the calculations [ 35 ]. The trap states below the conduction band are illustrated in green.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and Electrical Characterization of Pure and Al-Doped ZnO Nanorods

Panžić¹,

Capan

Brodar

et al. 2021

Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pure and Al-doped (3 at.%) ZnO nanorods were prepared by two-step synthesis. In the first step, ZnO thin films were deposited on silicon wafers by spin coating; then, ZnO nanorods (NR) and Al-doped ZnO NR were grown using a chemical bath method. The structural properties of zincite nanorods were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and corroborated well with the morphologic properties obtained by field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Morphology results revealed a minute change in the nanorod geometry upon doping, which was also visible by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). KPFM also showed preliminary electrical properties. Detailed electrical characterization of pure and Al-doped ZnO NR was conducted by temperature-dependent current–voltage (I–V) measurements on Au/(Al)ZnO NR/n-Si junctions. It was shown that Al doping increases the conductivity of ZnO NR by an order of magnitude. The I–V characteristics of pure and Al-doped ZnO NR followed the ohmic regime for lower voltages, whereas, for the higher voltages, significant changes in electric conduction mechanisms were detected and ascribed to Al-doping. In conclusion, for future applications, one should consider the possible influence of the geometry change of (Al)ZnO NRs on their overall electric transport properties.

show abstract

“…A thermal conductivity value which is almost an order of magnitude lower than the bulk value for Al-doped ZnO has been reported [6], which illustrates the potential of thin films in improving the thermoelectric properties of ZnO. Doping the Zn sites with Al, Ga may enhance σ and change the conductive behavior from insulator through n-type semiconductor to metal by controlling the doping level [7][8][9]. Gadoped ZnO (GZO) film deposited on an Al 2 O 3 single crystal by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technology shows an enhanced PF of about 57 μWm −1 K −2 at room temperature compared to the PF value of about 10 μWm −1 K −2 for pure ZnO film [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Enhancing the thermoelectric performance of ZnO film by sputter-deposition of Ag nanoparticles

Sun

Wang

Sun

et al. 2020

Mater. Res. Express

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Owing to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR), noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) have been intensively employed to improve the optical properties of semiconductors. In this work, Ag NPs are deposited on fully c-axis oriented ZnO film with high-crystallinity prepared by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on glass substrates. After Ag sputtering of 15 s, the ultraviolet light emission intensity of ZnO film significantly is increased by 50% due to the SPR of Ag NPs. Moreover, the conductive behavior changes from n-type semiconductor to metal-like with room-temperature conductivity sharply increasing by nearly three orders of magnitude from 4.8 for pure ZnO film to 3400 S cm −1 for Ag-deposited ZnO film. The change of conductive behavior and the remarkable increase of the conductivity can be ascribed to isolated Ag NPs with high-density electrons which are distributed on the ZnO film, leading to an increase of carrier concentration that exceeds Mott's critical density (>10 19 cm −3 ). Hall measurements show that after Ag sputtering of 15 s, the mobility increases from about 8 to 40 cm 2 V −1 s −1 and that the carrier concentration increases from 4×10 18 to 5×10 20 cm −3 . Owing to the remarkable improvement of the conductivity, the power-factor value at room temperature is enhanced from 11.5 to 49.2 μWm −1 K −2 .

show abstract

Role of substrate and annealing temperature on the structure of ZnO and AlxZn1−xO thin films for solar cell applications

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

Review on mechanical behavior of solar cells for building integrated photovoltaics

Review on mechanical behavior of solar cells for building integrated photovoltaics

Structural and Electrical Characterization of Pure and Al-Doped ZnO Nanorods

Enhancing the thermoelectric performance of ZnO film by sputter-deposition of Ag nanoparticles

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About