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N-type In (or Al) doped Cu2O thin films by magnetron sputtering

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Abstract

The ultimate aim of this work is to achieve cation (In/Al) doped stable n-type Cu2O thin films via industrially viable magnetron sputtering technique. The deposited thin films’ structural, optical and electrical characteristics have been investigated in light of their prospective application as solar cell buffer layers. The optical emission spectroscopy confirms the presence of cationic dopants in the plasma. X-ray diffraction and Raman studies confirm the cubic Cu2O structure without any kind of secondary phases. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, both the dopants are present in + 3 oxidation states The surface morphology and grain size/shape have been studied using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The transmittance spectroscopy was used to evaluate optical properties and the corresponding absorption coefficient was found to be 105–106 cm−1 for all the films. The radiative defects in Cu2O have been identified via photoluminescence spectroscopy. Hall effect measurement confirms the feasibility of changing the conductivity of Cu2O from p-type to n-type by cationic dopants with an increase in carrier density from 1014 to 1017 cm−3. The work function of p-Cu2O, n-(3.12%)In:Cu2O and n-(2.25%)Al:Cu2O thin films were found to be 4.85 eV, 4.24 eV and 4.15 eV respectively using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The fabricated Mo/p-Cu2O/n-(In/Al):Cu2O/n-AZO solar cells show a rectification curve with a very low open circuit voltage (VOC) under light indicating the photovoltaic behaviour.

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Data availability

This manuscript has associated data in a data repository. [Authors’ comment: The authors declare that the data and equations supporting the results of this study are available within the paper. The raw data sets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.]

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (no. CRG/2018/000500) for the financial support. The authors would also like to acknowledge Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India for providing the financial support through FIST (Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Higher Education Institution) project [no. SR/FST/ETI-015/2011].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, School of Advanced Sciences, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, 632014, India

    A. Lakshmanan & S. R. Meher

  2. Department of Sensor and Biomedical Technology, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, 632014, India

    Zachariah C. Alex

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Lakshmanan, A., Alex, Z.C. & Meher, S.R. N-type In (or Al) doped Cu2O thin films by magnetron sputtering. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 139, 62 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04846-w

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