347 cu2 o solar cell (9)

1

SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

M.Prasad and Ash M. Parameswaran

Paintable CUPROUS OXIDE/ZINC OXIDE Photovoltaic Device

mpa56@sfu.ca

paramesw@sfu.ca

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

SCIENCE

2SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Contents

• Background• Introduction• Device preparation• Experimental Results• Conclusion

3SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Background

• 1920s: Cu2O rectifier

• 1930s: Cu2O photosensitive device

• 1970s: Research on Cu2O photovoltaic cells

• Reported efficiency 2%. At present: 20% [1,2]

• 1980s: Three main issues of Cu2O solar cells:1. A sound method of preparation of Cu2O2. Increasing the photoconductivity of Cu2O3. Making a good P-N junction [3]

4SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Introduction• Solar cells research - popular topic now worldwide need for clean and renewable energy.• Cu2O Benefits (p-type):

Availability & low cost to develop Efficiency 20% Band gap 2 eV[4]

• ZnO (n-type): easy to manufacture and low cost.[4]

The combination of Cu2O and ZnO

inexpensive photoconductive device.

5SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Device Preparation

Three steps:

1. Cu2O painting

2. Deposition of ZnO3. Electrode connection

6SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Cu2O painting1. Copper sheet : Clean and dry thoroughly 2. Prepare a colloidal suspension3. Paint that suspension on Cu sheet.4. Dry (5 min), wash with acetone and deionised water

5. Heat (50°C, 5min) to remove any moisture content

Now the material is ready for next step

Device Preparation

7SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Electrochemical deposition of ZnO:• Using zinc Nitrate aq-solution (pH 12):

(Painted Cu2O sample and carbon electrode)

• Bias current 3mA at 72°C for 5 hours• Wash with deionised water and dry.

Device Preparation

8SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Electrical Connection:2 pieces of wire (≈5cm) connected to bare Cu and

ZnO using Nickel paint.

Device Preparation

Bare Cu plate

Cu2O Painting

ZnO deposition

Nickel contacts

The device preparation steps

9SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Cu2O painted side Bare Cu Side

Photograph of the Cu2O painted on bare Cu sample

Device Preparation

10SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Figure 3: A completed photovoltaic cell

Cu2O painted side Bare Cu Side

Device Preparation

11SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Experimental Results

• Tested using “Agilent 4155C SPA” under the Diode Characterization setting• voltage sweep: -200mV to 200mV• Dark vs illuminated

40% increase in current upon illumination

12SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

-0.2 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2

-0.04

-0.03

-0.02

-0.01

0

0.01

0.02

0.03

V-I response of the device

Voltage (V)

Curr

ent

(A)

Dark Current

Illuminated Current

Experimental Results

13SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Conclusion

• A simple approach to Cu/Cu2O-ZnO photovoltaic device

• simple painting technique to create the interface

A proof concept: Paves an avenue for an ultra-economical way to produce photovoltaic

devices in the future.

14SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

References

1. Rakhshani, A.E., Solid-State Electronics., 29, 7(1986)2. Georgieva, V., Tanusevski, A., Georgieva, M., Solar

Cells- Thin-Film Technologies., L.A.Kosyachenko., Editor, p.55 INTECH (2011)

3. Olsen L.C., Addis, F.W., Miller.W., Solar Cells., 7 , 247 (1982-83)

4. Motoyoshi, R., Oku, T., Suzuki,A., Kikuchi, K., Kikuchi,S., Synthetic Metals., 160, 1219, (2010)

15SIMON FRASER

UNIVERSITY

CANADA

Thank you