COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ALUMINIUM DOPED ZINC OXIDE FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL
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Date
2023-05-17
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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS KINNAIRD COLLEGE FOR WOMEN UNIVERSITY LAHORE,
Abstract
Energy is an essential component of our daily life, and it is hard to imagine a day
without it. The photovoltaic cell produces voltage or electric current by utilizing
sunlight through the photovoltaic effect. While silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells
grown on wafers have the disadvantage of being expensive and low in efficiency,
thin-film (PV) cells technology is utilized for efficient energy production.
Photovoltaic devices extensively utilize Aluminium-doped Zinc oxide thin films
(AZO) due to their functionality of light transmission. This study investigated the
thin film deposition on soda lime, borosilicate, and simple looking glass substrates
using the Aluminium doped ZnO technique and radio frequency magnetron (RF)
sputtering method, with a focus on sputtering power (W) on the optical properties
of the films and structural analysis of the film. X-ray diffraction abbreviated as
XRD and an Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy have been used to explore and analyze
the Aluminium doped zinc oxide thin films. The observed diffraction peaks in all
the AZO thin films were found to exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure,
with a predominant growth orientation forward the (0 0 2) plane and the c-axis
perpendicular to the substrate, as evaluated through structural analysis.
Transmittance measurements were conducted to gain the desired optical properties
of thin films. It was discovered that film thickness had a significant impact on the
optical band gap, with the band gap of samples 1, 2, and 3 increasing with the
sputtering power (W). The optical band gap of aluminium doped zinc oxide
increased with increasing sputtering power in the range of 30 to 500 W. The
increase in sputtering power resulted in an increase in film thickness, leading to
higher optical transparency and a widening of the band gap