Photovoltaic solar cell from camphoric carbon - A natural source

Thin films of camphoric carbon, a natural source, have been deposited on a single crystal Si (100) surface, 2 degrees off towards [011] and quartz/glass substrates, at room temperature, by both electron and ion beam deposition. The crystal structure, composition analysis, surface morphology and other optical properties of these films have been studied using X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-visible reflectance/transmittance spectroscopy. Carbon photovoltaic cells have been made and our preliminary investigation of photovoltaic characteristics of a cell of configuration B-doped C (100 nm)/P-doped C (100 nm)/n-Si (380 mu m) by electron beam deposition reveal short-circuit current of 1.2 mA cm(-2) and an open-circuit voltage of 102 mV with fill factor of 0.82, at AM1 condition, The low band gap (1 eV) and the semiconducting nature of these camphoric carbon films indicate the future scope of low-cost and high-efficiency carbon photovoltaic solar cells. PACS: 78,65.-S; 72.40. + W.