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theses

This dissertation focuses on improvements to electrodeposited cuprous oxide as a candidate for the absorber layer for a thin film solar cell that could be integrated into a mechanical solar cell stack. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is an earth abundant material that has a bandgap of ~2 eV with absorption coefficients around 102-106 cm-1. This bandgap is not optimized for use as a single-junction solar cell, but could be ideal for use in a tandem solar cell device. The theoretical efficiency of a material with a bandgap of 2.0 eV is 20%. The greatest actual efficiency that has been achieved for a Cu2O solar cell is only 8.1%. For the present work the primary focus has been on improving the microstructure of the absorber layer film. The Cu2O films were fabricated using electrodeposition. A seeding layer was developed using gold (Au); which was manipulated into nano-islands and used as the substrate for the Cu2O electrodeposition. The films were characterized and compared to determine the growth mechanism of each film using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to establish and compare the chemical phases that were present in each of the films. The crystal structure of the Cu2O film grown on gold was explored using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and this helped confirm the effect that the gold had on the growth of Cu2O. The Tauc method was then used to determine the bandgap of the films of Cu2O grown on both substrates and this showed that the Au based Cu2O film was a superior film. Electrical tests were also completed using a solar simulator and this established that the film grown on gold exhibited photoconductivity that was not seen on the film without gold. In addition, for this thesis, a method for depositing an n-type Cu2O film, based on a Cu-metal solution-boiling process, was investigated. Three forms of copper were tested: a sheet of copper, electrodeposited copper, and sputtered copper. The chemical phases were observed using XRD, microstructure was examined using SEM, and the electrical properties were tested using a hot probe test. The sputtered copper turned out to be the most stable film so it was used as the n-type in a homojunction solar cell with the p-type electrodeposited Cu2O. Recommendations for future experimentation with Cu2O film development, to improve upon the films and our understanding of the material are included.

ETD_7584

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Emma L. Mortensen

doi:10.7282/T3PV6NP1

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.