High near-infrared transparent molybdenum-doped indium oxide thin films for nanocrystalline silicon solar cell applications

Molybdenum-doped indium oxide (IMO) thin films were deposited at 450 degrees C for varying molybdenum concentrations in the range of 0.5-2 at% by the spray pyrolysis technique. These films confirmed the cubic bixbyite structure of polycrystalline In2O3. The preferred growth orientation along the (222) plane shifts to (400) on higher Mo doping levels. The films doped with 0.5 at% Mo showed high mobility of 76.9 cm(2)/(Vs). The high visible transmittance extends well into the near-infrared region. A possibility of using the produced IMO films in nanocrystalline (nc) silicon solar cell applications is discussed in this article. The morphological studies showed a change in the microstructure, which is consistent with the change in crystallographic orientation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.