Cu2O/n-ZnO nanowire solar cells on ZnO:Ga/glass templates

We report the deposition of p-Cu2O onto vertical n-ZnO nanowires prepared on ZnO:Ga/glass templates. With the sputtered Cu2O, the nanowires became club0like (nanowire with a head). Experimental results indicate that sputtered Cu2O also formed nano-shells surrounding the ZnO cores. The p-Cu2O/n-ZnO nanowire heterostructure exhibits rectifying behavior with a sharp turn on at similar to 0.46 V. Furthermore, the short-circuit photocurrent density, open circuit voltage, fill factor and conversion efficiency of the fabricated solar cell were 2.35 mA cm(-2), 0.13 V, 0.29 and around 0.1%, respectively. (c) 2007 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.