ZnO/Sn:In2O3 and ZnO/CdTe band offsets for extremely thin absorber photovoltaics

Journal Article · Wed Dec 28 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Applied Physics Letters, 99(26):263504

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3672218· OSTI ID:1034580

Kaspar, Tiffany C.; Droubay, Timothy C.; Jaffe, John E.

Band alignments were measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for thin films of ZnO on polycrystalline Sn:In2O3 (ITO) and single crystal CdTe. Hybrid density functional theory calculations of epitaxial zinc blende ZnO(001) on CdTe(001) were performed to compare with experiment. A conduction band offset of -0.6 eV was measured for ZnO/ITO, which is larger than desired for efficient electron injection. For ZnO/CdTe, the experimental conduction band offset of 0.25 eV is smaller than the calculated value of 0.67 eV, likely due to the TeOx layer at the ZnO/CdTe interface. The measured conduction band offset for ZnO/CdTe is favorable for photovoltaic devices.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1034580
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-83072; APPLAB; 34725; TRN: US201203%%630
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, 99(26):263504, Vol. 99, Issue 26; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ELECTRONS
FUNCTIONALS
MONOCRYSTALS
THIN FILMS
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
ZINC
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory