Spray pyrolysis deposition of Cu-ZnO and Zn-SnO2 solar cells

Large-gap metal oxides, such as titanium, tin, and zinc oxides, have attracted great interest because of their remarkable potential in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and their low cost and simple preparation procedure. In this work, we investigated several Zn-SnO2 and Cu-ZnO thin films that were sprayed under different experimental conditions. We varied [Zn/[Sn] and [Cu/[Zn] ratios, calculated on atomic percent in the starting solution. We report some structural results of the films using X-ray diffraction. Optical reflection and transmission spectra investigated by an UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer permit the determination of optical constants. The direct band gap was deduced from the photon energy dependence of the absorption coefficient.