Boron-doped diamond-like amorphous carbon as photovoltaic films in solar cell

In this paper, the photovoltaic feature of metal-boron carbide-silicon (MCS) solar cell was reported. The boron-doped diamond-like carbon thin film on n-silicon substrate has been prepared using arc-discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) technique. The conductivity and the resistivity of the film were measured by Bio-Rad Hall5500PC system to be p-type semiconductor and 3-12 Omega cm/square, respectively. The boron content in the films was about 0.8-1.2%, obtained from Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and some microcrystalline diamond grains (0.5-1.0 mum) embedded in the mainly amorphous network were revealed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectrum. The performance of Au/C(B)/n-Si heterojunction solar cells has been given under dark I-V rectifying curve and I-V working curve (with 100mW cm(-2) illumination). A measurement of open-circuit voltage V-oc = 580mV and short-circuit current density J(sc) = 32.5mA cm(-2) was obtained. Accordingly, the energy conversion efficiency of the device was tentatively determined to be about 7.9% in AM 1.5, 100mW/cm(2) illuminated. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.