ENHANCED ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF NONSTRUCTURAL CUBIC SILICON CARBIDE WITH GRAPHENE CONTACT FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS

Cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) is successfully synthesized through a simple solid-state reaction technique at a comparatively low temperature without using any catalyst. The XRD data is also used to study other structural parameters of synthesized sample by using different method. Raman peak at 796 cm-1 supports the XRD results. Si–C vibrational mode observed at 788 cm-1 in the FTIR spectrum further confirms the growth of 3C-SiC. UV-Vis spectroscopy is used to measure optical bandgap energy (Eg = 2.36 eV). Other optical parameters such as dielectric constant and refractive index of grown sample are also studied. Electrical performance is analyzed by using graphene contact with further evaluation of dark and light IV-measurements. The use of graphene contact establishes the enhancement of electrical conductivity of as-grown samples particularly when they are exposed to light. These findings indicate that the grown sample has comparatively better transport properties than conventional metal contacts under the illuminated conditions.