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Interface study of molybdenum oxide thin films on n- and p-type crystalline silicon surface

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Abstract

In this study, the interface analysis of n- and p-type crystalline silicon with molybdenum oxide (MoOx) thin film for its application as a carrier selective layer has been presented. Sub-stoichiometric MoOx thin films were grown on glass and n-Si and p-Si substrates by DC reactive sputtering using molybdenum target in pure Ar + O2 gas ambient at room temperature for 20 min at 60 W DC power. The optical properties were studied using UV–Vis-NIR spectroscopy and the films showed an optical transmittance > 70% in the visible spectrum with an optical band gap of 3.23 eV. FTIR and XPS studies showed the presence of mixed phases of sub-stoichiometric MoOx in the deposited film. The interface study was done using the capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurement of Al/MoOx/Si/Al structure at different frequencies. Density of interface traps was found to be of the order of 1012 cm−3 for both n- and p-Si. The barrier heights of approximately 0.65 eV and 0.52 eV were calculated from current-voltage (I-V) measurements for n- and p-Si, respectively. The I-V results demonstrated a good rectifying characteristics with enhanced barrier height for n-Si as compared to p-Si for its application as interfacial layers in silicon solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, for the experimental facilities. The author Abhishek Kumar gratefully acknowledges the support of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India for providing NREF fellowship (Ref. No. 10/2(2)2017-HRD, Dt. 30.03.2018).

Funding

This work is supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy India, 342-12/5/2019-HRD to Abhishek Kumar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PV Metrology Section, Advanced Materials and Devices Metrology Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Abhishek Kumar, S. K. Srivastava & Prathap Pathi

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, UP, 201002, India

    Abhishek Kumar,  Vandana, S. K. Srivastava & Prathap Pathi

  3. Industrial Waste Utilization Nano & Biomaterials Division, CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute, Bhopal, 462026, India

    Vandana

  4. National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana, 122003, India

    Mrinal Dutta

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Contributions

AK: Writing—original draft, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. V: Review & Editing, Supervision. MD: Review & Editing. SKS: Review & Editing. PP: Review & Editing, Data curation, Supervision, Resources.

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Correspondence to Prathap Pathi.

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Kumar, A., Vandana, Dutta, M. et al. Interface study of molybdenum oxide thin films on n- and p-type crystalline silicon surface. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 472 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12151-0

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