Doped Cu2O/n-Si Heterojunction Solar Cell

We present a silicon/oxide heterojunction solar cell using a doped-Cu₂O electron blocking layer. Surface recombination velocity shows that doped-Cu₂O provides better passivation for the surface defects in silicon than undoped Cu₂O. More importantly, the built-in field at the Cu₂O/Si interface is higher with the doped Cu₂O. The higher field allows the doped-Cu₂O/Si solar cells to attain an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.45V, better than 0.32V previously reported [1]. Integrating a transparent top electrode with the Cu₂O/Si solar cells, reduces optical transmission losses and increases the short-circuit current density (JSC) from 14.3 mA/cm² to 17.9 mA/cm². Overall doped-Cu₂O/Si heterojunction solar cells show a power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.23%.