Transparent conducting ZnO:Al films via CCVD for amorphous silicon solar cells

Highly transparent conducting ZnO:Al films have been fabricated using the Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) process. CCVD is an open atmosphere process and uses inexpensive precursors to produce thin films, which enables large-area deposition with high throughput at low cost. Structural, electrical, and optical properties of the films were characterized. Synthesized ZnO:Al films showed polycrystalline structure with a [002] textured orientation. Electro-optical and morphological properties were found to depend on process parameters such as solution concentration and flow rate, doping concentration, and annealing conditions. Tandem a-Si solar cells were made on ZnO:Al coated borosilicate glass substrates, and an efficiency of 9.4% has been demonstrated.