Evaluation of the Structural, Optical and Photoconversion Efficiency of ZnO Thin Films Prepared Using Aerosol Deposition

As compared to other deposition techniques such as atomic layer deposition, chemical vapour deposition and sputtering, aerosol deposition (AD) is a simple and cost-effective technique to produce ZnO thin films. In this work, the effect of deposition cycles on the structural, optical, and photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) of dye sensitized solar cells of ZnO thin films deposited by AD (AZ) was systematically studied. The structural, optical, and PCE% of two-cycle deposited ZnO thin film (AZ-II) exhibited the highest performance. Further increment in deposition cycle caused deterioration in the structural, optical, and PCE performance. The thickness of ZnO thin films decreased due to abrasion of the deposited film by the subsequent stream of highly energetic ZnO particles. Loosely bound particles could be found on the surface of ZnO thin film after three deposition cycles (AZ-III). The AZ-III films exhibited poor crystal quality, with many crystal defects such as interstitial oxygen as suggested in room temperature photoluminescence analysis.

Automated summary

Aerosol deposition (AD) is a simple and cost-effective technique to produce ZnO thin films compared to other deposition techniques. This study systematically investigated the effect of deposition cycles on the structural, optical, and photo-conversion efficiency (PCE) of dye sensitized solar cells of ZnO thin films deposited by AD. The two-cycle deposited ZnO thin film (AZ-II) showed the highest performance in terms of structure, optics, and PCE%, while further increasing deposition cycles resulted in deterioration of performance.