Amorphous silicon solar cells on natively textured ZnO grown by PECVD

Natively textured ZnO layers deposited by the expanding thermal plasma CVD technique between 150 and 350 degreesC at a deposition rate between 0.65 an d 0.75 nm/s have been investigated with respect to their suitability as fro nt electrode material for amorphous silicon pin solar cells in comparison t o reference SnO2:F (Asahi U-type). At higher substrate temperature and with growing thickness, the surface roughness of the ZnO films increases. Layer s with electrical (sheet resistance < 10 <Omega>/rectangle), optical (trans mittance > 80%) and morphological (surface texture) properties comparable t o Asahi U-type SnO2:F have been obtained. Preliminary solar cells deposited on ZnO show an efficiency approaching 10%. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.