Indium-doped zinc oxide films as transparent electrodes for solar cells

Abstract

Indium-doped zinc oxide films possess high conductivity and transparency with negligible absorption in the wavelength range of 0.4-0.8 µm which is the useful region for hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells. These films are thermally stable in both oxidizing and reducing ambients up to ~800 K. These films do not degrade when exposed to hydrogen plasma. Pure ZnO films are rough, while In-doped ZnO films are very smooth. By making a double layer structure of In-doped ZnO/ZnO, the film surface has been texturized, which results in a large haze factor (~16%) at a wavelength of 0.7 µm.