Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SC4-P107
STUDY OF OPTICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND MORPHOLOGICAL
PROPERTIES OF ZINC OXIDE NANORODS AND ITS APPLICATION
IN SOLAR CELLS
Jesus Antonio Maldonado Arriola 1 , Mario Enrique Alvarez Ramos 1 , Gerardo Saavedra
Rodríguez 1 , Roberto Carlos Carrillo Torres 1 , Raúl Sánchez Zeferino 1
1
Universidad de Sonora, Departamento de Física, Mexico.
ZnO/Si heterojunction solar cells have gained increased interest due to their
cost-effectiveness and high efficiency. In the present study, we analyzed the
optical and morphological properties of thin-films comprised of zinc oxide (ZnO)
nanorods which are important components of the photovoltaic cells mentioned
above. The synthesis methodology of ZnO nanorods involves only two
steps. First, ZnO seed layers were deposited on p-type silicon substrates by solgel
dip-coating process. Different combinations of dip-coating cycles and
annealing temperatures were used to find the most suitable and homogeneous
morphology. Next, ZnO nanorods were grown onto ZnO seed layers by using a
simple chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The synthesis method applied
in this work uses inexpensive precursors and allows reproducible and
controllable growth of ZnO thin-films at low temperature (80 °C). SEM images
show that ZnO seed layers were formed homogeneously on the p-Si substrate
surface with a thickness of 80 nm for 1 deposit cycle. This layer consists of
spherical particles with average diameter of 25 nm. These nanoparticles
function as nucleation sites for the growth of hexagonal ZnO nanorods with
dimensions of 40 nm (average diameter) and 700 nm (average length), showing
dense packing along the vertical direction. In addition, EDS and PL spectra
confirm that the obtained compound on the silicon substrate is indeed ZnO.
Thin-films comprised of ZnO nanorods synthetized by simple methods are the
first step for the manufacture of photovoltaic cells based on n-ZnO/p-Si
heterojunctions that can be an environmental friendly and cost-effective
technology.
Acknowledgment: The authors acknowledge funding from Consejo Nacional de
Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT) project number 255791-INFR-2015.
Keywords: Solar cell, Thin films, Optical properties
Presenting authors email: jesus_antonio_m_a@hotmail.com