Undoped TiO2 and nitrogen-doped TiO2 thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition on planar and architectured surfaces for photovoltaic applications

Undoped and nitrogen doped TiO2 thin films were deposited by atomic layer deposition on planar substrates. Deposition on 3D-architecture substrates made of metallic foams was also investigated to propose architectured photovoltaic stack fabrication. All the films were deposited at 265 °C and nitrogen incorporation was achieved by using titanium isopropoxide, NH3 and/or N2O as precursors. The maximum nitrogen incorporation level obtained in this study was 2.9 at. %, resulting in films exhibiting a resistivity of 115 Ω cm (+/−10 Ω cm) combined with an average total transmittance of 60% in the 400–1000 nm wavelength range. Eventually, TiO2 thin films were deposited on the 3D metallic foam template.