Fabrication of ZnO-NiO Nanocomposite/ Nano-Crystalline Silicon Thin Film Solar Cell

This work aims to investigate efficient ZnO-NiO (zinc oxide-nickel oxide) nanocomposite/nanocrystalline silicon µc-Si solar cells. The µc-Si film was fabricated by annealing hydrogenated amorphous silicon α-Si: H deposited by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), and the nanocomposite ZnO-NiO thin film was manufactured using the sol-gel spin coating technique. The experimental study highlights the physical properties of the device’s thin films. The enhancement of structural properties is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The crystalline fraction is estimated to be 60% for µc-Si. The XRD results show sharp peaks for ZnO-NiO and µc-Si, indicating good crystallinity, which is crucial for solar cell efficiency. The association of µc-Si/ZnO-NiO considerably enhances the optical properties, reducing the reflectivity to 5% when compared with the amorphous silicon/ZnO-NiO association. The conductivity is also improved from 50 to 1 (Ω cm) -1 . The solar cell is then theoretically investigated using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D). The parameters used in the simulation, including the effective density of states, electron and hole mobilities, and the band gap energy, and their impact on device performance were analyzed. The amorphous silicon/ZnO-NiO device was also theoretically investigated for comparison purposes. The simulated nanocrystalline solar cell displayed a theoretical efficiency of 28% using SCAPS-1D, an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.8 V, and a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 42 mA/cm². The theoretical electrochemical study reveals improved charge transport and a high effective lifetime, in agreement with the high-power conversion efficiency. The simulation of external quantum efficiency yields good results in the UV-vis-NIR range, surpassing those of the amorphous silicon/ZnO-NiO solar cell, particularly for wavelengths exceeding 600 nm. The SCAPS-1D investigation significantly reduces manufacturing costs and energy losses by optimizing the solar cell design and validates these results with theoretical findings that highlight the potential of this solar cell as a highly efficient and cost-effective device.