P-type Transparent Cu2O:B Hole Selective Thin Layer for c-Si Solar Cell

Metal oxides like MoO 3 , V 2 O 5 , WO 3 and organic compounds like PEDOT:PSS are widely used as carrier selective contacts for solar cell fabrication. Generally, these materials an n-type in nature. Cu 2 O is an earth-abundant, non-toxic, p-type material which is used in many optoelectronic applications. In this work, we report the development of a novel Cu 2 O material by trivalent boron (B 3+ ) ion doping and its implementation as a hole selective layer (HSL) in a c-Si solar cell. The Cu 2 O:B films were deposited by the co-sputtering method in a controlled oxygen/argon atmosphere. Heterojunction solar cell Cu 2 O:B/Si cell was fabricated by further optimizing the Cu 2 O:B thickness. The deposition time, introduction of the passivating layer and sputtering damage influenced the solar cell performance. A promising photo conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.56% was obtained for the best cell with an area of 1 cm 2 within the limitations of the deposition method. The limiting factors and possibilities of pushing the efficiency limits were also discussed. In addition, the novel Cu 2 O:B material is expected to enhance the performance of other solar cells as well as various optoelectronic devices.