Synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon thin films and their applications in solar cells

N-doped carbon thin films (N-CFMs) on copper foils are synthesized by using acetonitrile (CH3CN) as liquid carbon and nitrogen precursors in a chemical vapor deposition system. Effect of acetonitrile feeding amount on the optical transmittance and electrical conductivity of N-CFMs are investigated. It is found that both the transmittance (from similar to 41% to similar to 75%) and sheet resistance (from similar to 700 Omega/sq to similar to 2000 Omega/sq) increases with the decrease of acetonitrile feeding amount (from 200 mu L to 10 mu L). Schottky junction solar cells based on n-type silicon and as-synthesized N-CFMs demonstrate power conversion efficiencies of up to similar to 1.55%, showing their potential applications in photovoltaic areas. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.