Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-hgkh8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T08:39:42.727Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Transparent Conducting Oxides for Photovoltaics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Get access

Abstract

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are an increasingly important component of photovoltaic (PV) devices, where they act as electrode elements, structural templates, and diffusion barriers, and their work function controls the open-circuit device voltage. They are employed in applications that range from crystalline-Si heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) cells to organic PV polymer solar cells. The desirable characteristics of TCO materials that are common to all PV technologies are similar to the requirements for TCOs for flat-panel display applications and include high optical transmissivity across a wide spectrum and low resistivity. Additionally, TCOs for terrestrial PV applications must use low-cost materials, and some may require device-technology-specific properties. We review the fundamentals of TCOs and the matrix of TCO properties and processing as they apply to current and future PV technologies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Kostlin, H., Jost, R., and Lems, W., Phys. Stat. Sol. A 29 (1975) p. 87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Badeker, K., Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 22 (1907) p. 749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Moriga, T., Edwards, D.D., Mason, T.O., Palmer, G.B., Poeppelmeier, K.R., Kannewurf, C.R., and Nakabayashi, I., J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 81 (5) (1998) p. 1310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Cannard, P.J. and Tilley, R.J.D., J. Solid State Chem. 73 (1988) p. 418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Frank, G. and Kostlin, H., Appl. Phys. A 27 (1982) p. 197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Nomura, K., Ohta, H., Takagi, A., Kamiya, T., Hirano, M., and Hosono, H., Nature 432 (2004) p. 488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Ellmer, K., J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 34 (2001) p. 3097.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Ko, H.J., Chen, Y.F., Hong, S.K., Wenisch, H., and Yao, T., Appl. Phys. Lett. 77 (2000) p. 3761.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Bhosle, V., Tiwari, A., and Narayan, J., Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 032106 (2006); A. Suzuki, T. Matsushita, T. Aoki, Y. Yoneyama, and M. Okuda, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 38 (1999) p. L71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Fortunato, E., Gonçalves, A., Marques, A., Viana, A., Águas, H., Pereira, L., Ferreira, I., Vilarinho, P., and Martins, R., Surf. Coat. Technol. 180–181 (2004) p. 20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Dutta, J., Perrin, J., Emeraud, T., Laurent, J.-M., and Smith, A., J. Mater. Sci. 30 (1995) p. 53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Elangovan, E. and Ramamurthi, K., Cryst. Res. Technol. 38 (2003) p. 779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Tanaka, M., Okamoto, S., Tsuge, S., and Kiyama, S., Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Proc. 3rd World Conf. 1 (2003) p. 955.Google Scholar
14.Tanaka, T., Mater. Integration 13 (2000) p. 45.Google Scholar
15.Shigesato, Y., Yasui, I., and Paine, D.C., JOM 47 (1995) p. 47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Ihara, T. and Gyobu, Y., patent application (Toa Gosei Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Japan, 2006) p. 6.Google Scholar
17.Ito, N., Sato, Y., Song, P.K., Kaijio, A., Inoue, K., and Shigesato, Y., Thin Solid Films 496 (2005) p. 99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Yaglioglu, B., Huang, Y.-J., Yeom, H.-Y., and Paine, D.C., Thin Solid Films 496 (2005) p. 89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Park, S.-M., Ikegami, T., and Ebihara, K., Thin Solid Films 513 (2006) p. 90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Gomez, H., Maldonado, A., Olvera, M.D.L.L., and Acosta, D.R., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 87 (2005) p. 107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Paul, G.K. and Sen, S.K., Mater. Lett. 57 (2002) p. 959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Tiburcio-Silver, A., Sanchez-Juarez, A., and Avila-Garcia, A., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 55 (1998) p. 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Contreras, M.A., Romero, M.J., and Noufi, R., Thin Solid Films 511–512 (2006) p. 51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.AbuShama, J., Noufi, R., Johnston, S., Ward, S., and Wu, X., Conf. Rec. 31st IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf. (2005) p. 299.Google Scholar
25.Ramanathan, K., Keane, J., and Noufi, R., Conf. Rec. 31st IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf. (2005) p. 195.Google Scholar
26.Olson, D.C., Piris, J., Collins, R.T., Shaheen, S.E., and Ginley, D.S., Thin Solid Films 496 (2005) p. 26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Olson, D.C., Miedaner, A., Curtis, C., Rumbles, G., Collins, R.T., Gregg, B.A., Ginley, D.S., and Shaheen, S.E., Conf. Rec. 31st IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf. (2005) p. 71.Google Scholar
28.Shaheen, S.E., Ginley, D.S., and Jabbour, G.E., MRS Bull. 30 (January 2005) p. 10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Xie, Y., Electrochim. Acta 51 (2006) p. 3399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30.Macak, J.M., Tsuchiya, H., Taveira, L., Aldabergerova, S., and Schmuki, P., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 44 (2005) p. 7463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31.Mor, G.K., Carvalho, M.A., Varghese, O.K., Pishko, M.V., and Grimes, C.A., J. Mater. Res. 19 (2004) p. 628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Hosono, H., Kurita, M., and Kawazoe, H., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 37 (1998) p. 1119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar