Materials and junctions for a novel oxide solar cell

Renewable energy is crucial for tackling the world’s climate and energy challenges. Solar cells already hold a significant portion of the global energy market, and increasing this portion is important for propelling the renewable revolution forward. In this work, a novel solar cell concept with the potential of boosting the solar cell efficiency is explored. A Si bottom cell absorbs the low-energy part of the sunlight, while an oxide top cell consisting of Cu2O and ZnO absorbs the high-energy part. Material and junction properties of the architecture is investigated electrically, optically, chemically and structurally. The thesis details the defect structure of Cu2O, epitaxial growth of ZnO, and the sputter growth of poly-Si. The Cu2O/Si, and Cu2O/ZnO junctions are characterized, and novel ways of realizing the shallow emitter in Si and improving the crystallinity of Cu2O are demonstrated.