Assessment of CuO thin films for its suitablity as window absorbing layer in solar cell fabrications

• Nano structured semiconducting CuO thin film deposited by spray pyrolysis.
• CuO mono phase formation was confirmed by the XRD, XPS and FT-Raman studies.
• Films exhibited high absorption in the solar spectrum region (0.2–0.8 μm) indicates good solar selectivity.
• Low intense photoluminescence emission peaks revealed the light retaining capacity.

As major attention has been paid to solar cells with extremely thin absorber, present study embark on the structural, surface, optical and electrical characterization of spray deposited CuO absorber layers prepared using precursors of different concentrations at the constant substrate temperature of 350 °C. Confirmed monoclinic lattice and the CuO vibrational modes implied the tenorite phase formation of CuO. Smooth surface and the uniform distribution of a surface grain which contains Cu2+ as the main oxidation state of the cations established the suitability of the CuO thin films as energy absorbers. Optical absorption in selective regions, estimated optical bandgap and low intense photoluminescence peaks favored respectively the easy charge transfer and the light retaining capacity of the CuO films. Probably, a combination of electrical conduction with nanostructured CuO will be helpful for future developments of substrates for solar cells with CuO as absorber layers.

CuO films deposited using precursors of different concentrations exhibit high absorption in the solar spectrum region (0.2–0.8 μm), the reflection is very low and the reflectance in some region is near to 0%, while in the infrared region (0.8–2.5 μm), the reflectance is rather high. This indicates that the CuO thin films have good solar selectivity.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide