Simulation, fabrication, and application of transparent conductive Mo-doped ZnO film in a solar cell

• Mo-doped ZnO (MZO) films were investigated using theoretical and experimental method.
• Low resistivity and wide spectral transmittance MZO film was fabricated.
• The MZO film significantly improved the μc-SiGe:H solar cell performance.

In this study, Mo-doped ZnO (MZO) films were investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory and magnetron sputtering technology. The theoretical results predicted that after Mo was incorporated into ZnO, the MZO film would present n-type metallic properties and the optical band gap would widen, which predicts that MZO films possess favorable electrical and optical properties. An MZO film with high conductivity and a wide spectral range was fabricated at various substrate temperatures (TS) using pulsed direct-current magnetron sputtering. From 400 to 1200 nm, a lower resistivity of 7.68×10−4 Ω cm and a higher average transmittance (exceeding 80%) were observed when the MZO film was deposited at the optimal TS of 280 °C. Thin-film solar cells consisting of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon germanium fabricated on textured MZO films demonstrated a strong enhancement of 7.24% in the conversion efficiency because of their improved short-circuit current density (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) compared with a commercial Al-doped ZnO film applied to a reference solar cell.