Increasing the silicon solar cell efficiency with transition metal oxide nano-thin films as anti-reflection coatings

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Herein, we report the study on RF-sputtered transition metal oxide thin films of Zinc oxide, Magnesium oxide, and Aluminum oxide as an antireflection coating on silicon-based solar cells and their influence on energy conversion. The transmission spectrum of all sputtered metal oxides was studied using a UV-visible spectrophotometer. The phase formation and microstructure analysis of these sputtered oxides were studied using glass for the destructive test along with the device. The x-ray diffraction and cross-section scanning electron microscopy of sputtered glass confirmed a single-phase structure along with nearly equal desired deposition thickness. The thicknesses of sputtered films were estimated using variable angle ellipsometry and the same was confirmed from cross-section scanning electron micrograph. The chemical composition and oxidation state of thin films deposited on glass were established from x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The ability of a fabricated device deposited with the antireflection layer in converting photon energy to electrical energy was studied using a solar simulator under 1 sun condition. The ability to collect charge carriers of the anti-reflection coated device as a function of wavelength was also studied using quantum efficiency measurement.