Study On The Preparation Of AZO Films And The Applications On Solar Cells

Transparent conductive oxide films have been widely used in solar cells, liquid crystal displays, and other technologies because of their high conductivity and high visible light transmittance. ITO (indium-doped tin oxide) is one of the most commonly used transparent conductive films for its excellent performance. However, the world supply of indium, a component of the ITO film, is projected to be drained in only eighteen years if current consumption levels are maintained. Furthermore, ITO is toxic, fragile, and unstable in reducing ambient. The unsuitability of ITO for tomorrow’s world motivates the search for new materials and new material hybrids that can be used as transparent electrodes. Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), another metal oxide, is a popular alternative to ITO. AZO is abundant and nontoxic, with greater transparency in infrared, a feature that is appealing for solar applications. However, AZO struggles to match ITO’s electrical properties.In this study, Aluminum doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) transparent conductive films are prepared via the DC sputtering and the sol-gel method and spin coating. We study the effect of changing base vacuum pressure, target current and annealing temperature. Using optimized conditions, we prepared an AZO transparent conductive film with a resistivity of3.4x10-4Ω·cm and a transmittance of approximately reached90%.We study the effect of changing the film annealing temperature and A13+doping concentration on AZO transparent conductive film morphology, electrical and optical properties. The results show that the annealing temperature and A13+doping concentration have an important effect on the electrical and optical properties of the film. Using optimized conditions, we prepared an AZO transparent conductive film with a resistivity of1.8x10-3Ω·cm and a transmittance of approximately reached94%.We compare the differences and study the energy level alignment of the AZO transparent conductive films prepared by DC sputtering and sol-gel methods. With AZO prepared by these two methods as the transparent electrode of the perovskite solar cells, the PCE of3.6%was achieved.