Electrical and optical characterizations of an n-BaSi2/p-Si hetero-junction for solar cell applications

An n-BaSi₂/p-Si hetero-junction has been successfully fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of the undoped n-BaSi₂ layer on the p-Si substrate. The θ-2θ x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated the good crystalline quality of the epitaxial film. Clear rectifying property has been observed in the J-V characteristics of this p-n junction. From the C-V measurements, the carrier (electrons) density in the n-BaSi₂ layer was about 2×10¹⁶ cm^-3, and the built-in potential was about 1.5 V. The quantum efficiency obtained from the sample revealed that BaSi₂ is a very promising material for solar cells applications.