Properties of an n-C:P/p-Si carbon-based photovoltaic cell grown by radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at room temperature

The phosphorus-doped amorphous carbon (n-C:P) films were grown by radiofrequency (RF) power-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at room temperature using a solid phosphorus target. The influence of phosphorus doping on the material properties of n-C:P based on the results of simultaneous characterization are reported. Moreover, solar cell properties such as series resistance, short-circuit current density, open-circuit current voltage, fill factor and conversion efficiency along with the spectral response are reported for the fabricated carbon-based n-C:P/p-Si heterojunction solar cells by standard measurement technique. The cells' performances have been given in the dark I-V rectifying curve and I-V working curve under illumination when exposed to AM 1.5 illumination condition (100 mW/cm(2), 25 degrees C). The maximum open-circuit voltage (V-oc) and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) for the cells are observed to be approximately 236V and 7.34 mA/cm(2), respectively, for the n-C:P/p-Si cell grown at a lower RF power of 100W. The highest energy conversion efficiency (eta) and fill factor (FF) were found to be approximately 0.84% and 49%, respectively. We have observed that the rectifying nature of the heterojunction structures is due to the nature of n-C:P films. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.