Investigating the properties of tin-oxide thin film developed by sputtering process for perovskite solar cells

Tin oxide (SnO2) nano-crystalline thin films were deposited on silicon and glass substrates at room temperature by sputtering at a constant power of 30 W and different working pressure of 10, 7, and 5 mTorr. Surface morphology, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated to optimise the deposition condition of the films as electron transport layer (ETL) for high-power conversion efficiency perovskite solar cells. The films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer, and Four-point probe. SnO2 films obtained at working pressure of 10 mTorr exhibited uniform surface morphology with high light transmittance (90%) and conductivity (4 S/m). These sputtered SnO2 films appeared to have shown promising properties as ETL for PSC, and further investigation is justified to establish the optimal fabrication parameters and resulting energy conversion efficiency.

Automated summary

Nano-crystalline thin films of tin oxide (SnO2) were deposited on silicon and glass substrates at room temperature using sputtering method at different working pressures (10, 7, and 5 mTorr). The films were investigated for surface morphology, electrical and optical properties to optimize the deposition condition as electron transport layer (ETL) for high-power conversion efficiency perovskite solar cells. SnO2 films obtained at working pressure of 10 mTorr showed uniform surface morphology with high light transmittance (90%) and conductivity (4 S/m). These sputtered SnO2 films showed promising properties as ETL for PSC, and further research is needed to establish the optimal fabrication parameters and resulting energy conversion efficiency.