Physical and photo-electrochemical properties of CuO thin film grown on µc-Si:H/glass. Application to solar energy conversion

• Published in: Solar energy 2020-08, Vol.206, p.787-792
• Main Authors: Keriti, Y., Brahimi, R., Gabes, Y., Kaci, S., Trari, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Capacitance; Conduction; Conduction bands; Copper; Copper oxides; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; CuO films; Diffraction patterns; Electrochemical analysis; Electrochemistry; Energy conversion; Energy converters; Hetero-structure; N-type semiconductors; Optical transition; Oxidation; Photocatalysis; Photovoltaic cells; Raman spectroscopy; Silicon films; Sodium sulfate; Solar energy; Solar energy conversion; Solar radiation; Thin films; X-ray diffraction; µc-Si: H thin films
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2020.05.072

•CuO films were deposited on µc-Si:H/Corning Eagle glass heterostructure by thermal evaporation of Cu.•The CuO film shows a small gap which makes CuO a hopeful candidate as absorber layer in solar cells and in photo catalytic applications.•The junction CuO/Rhodamine solution gives rise to a large output voltage and is successfully tested for the dyes oxidation. The Physical and photo-electrochemical properties of CuO grown on microcrystalline silicon thin films (µc-Si:H) by heating copper film were investigated. The Raman spectrum for µc-Si: H exhibits a peak at 520 cm−1 confirming its good crystallinity with a crystalline volume fraction of 91%. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows narrow peaks with a monoclinic symmetry. The indirect optical transition (1.19 eV) is well matched to the solar spectrum and the low transmittance (