Optimization of Temperature-Dependent Optoelectronic Characteristics of Polycrystalline SnO2/Si Hetero-junction Structure

Abstract

In this work, polycrystalline tin oxide thin films were prepared and studied in order to fabricate heterojunctions by growing them on n-type silicon substrates. The electrical measurements on the prepared samples were performed at different substrate and annealing temperatures. The results of these measurements showed good uniformity of these films throughout the current-voltage characteristics in both forward and reverse bias conditions at different annealing temperatures. They showed that the I-V characteristics were highly improved by thermal annealing. The reflectivity and internal quantum efficiency of the SnO2/Si were measured as functions of the incident light wavelength. As well, the shortcircuit current density and open-circuit voltage were measured as functions of the incident light intensity. These measurements showed good optoelectronic characteristics of the fabricated structures stimulating to optimize their employment in solar cell applications. In addition, the low-cost production of such structures makes them very good candidates for solar energy conversion systems as cheap alternative energy techniques.