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Investigating the potential of cobalt-doped zinc oxide (Zn1-xCoxOδ) as a buffer layer for CZTS thin-film solar cells

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Abstract

Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) solar cells are one of the most promising possible substitutes for chalcopyrite copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) in the future photovoltaic industry. This work reports on the preparation and characterization of a cobalt-doped zinc oxide (Zn1-xCoxOδ) thin-film buffer layer using the spin-coating technique on ITO back contact glass substrates. The effect of cobalt-doped zinc oxide on the structural, optical, morphological, and electrical properties of the obtained films has been investigated. The prepared thin-films were analyzed by several different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy and current density–voltage. (J-V) measurements. XRD analysis indicates all Zn1-xCoxOδ buffer layer films possess the wurtzite hexagonal polycrystalline structure with orientation (0 0 2). The images from FESEM analysis indicate the cross-sectional area and internal structure of Zn1-xCoxOδ buffer layer. The UV–Vis optical band gaps of the films were found to be in the range of 3.53–3.97 eV. The electrical analysis shows that the conductivity of cobalt-doped ZnO increases compared to the pure ZnO film without do**. The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Zn0.91Co0.09Oδ is 0.54%. The analysis on cobalt-doped ZnO film showed that cobalt and zinc oxide are good candidates and potential for optoelectronic applications such as the production of solar cells which involved transparent electrodes.

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Data availability

The authors declare that the data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.

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Acknowledgements

The research conducted received comprehensive backing from the MOHE grant, under project reference DIP-2021-013 and FRGS/1/2019/STG07/UKM/02/11. All experimental procedures were carried out at the Photonic Technology Laboratory within the Department of Electrical, Electronics, and Systems Engineering at UKM. The authors extend their appreciation to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for the invaluable technical assistance rendered.

Funding

Funding was supported by Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, DIP-2021-013, FRGS/1/2019/STG07/UKM/02/11.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical, Electronic and System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia

    Huda Abdullah, Kang Jian **an, Muhammad Nurhayat Amir Hamzah, Norshafadzila Mohammad Naim & Badariah Bais

  2. Advanced Semiconductor Materials and Devices, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia

    Huda Abdullah, Badariah Bais & Abdul Rahman Mohmad

  3. Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia

    Abdul Rahman Mohmad & Jahariah Sampe

  4. Engineering Physics Department, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia

    Brian Yuliarto

  5. Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre (AMTEC), School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman

  6. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Yap Wing Fen

  7. Research Center for Advanced Materials, National Research and Innovation Agency of Republic of Indonesia, KST BJ. Habibie, South Tangerang, 15134, Indonesia

    Ni Luh Wulan Septiani

Authors
  1. Huda Abdullah
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Contributions

The conceptualization, funding acquistance and supervision were done by Huda Abdullah. Methodology, data measurement, analysis and original manuscript writing were performed by Kang Jian **an and Muhammad Nurhayat Amir Hamzah. Manuscript revision and editing were made by Kang Jian **an and Norshafadzila Mohammad Naim. The manuscript has been checked by Badariah Bais, Abdul Rahman Mohmad, Jahariah Sampe, Brian Yuliarto, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Yap Wing Fen and Ni Luh Wulan Septiani. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Huda Abdullah.

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Abdullah, H., **an, K.J., Hamzah, M.N.A. et al. Investigating the potential of cobalt-doped zinc oxide (Zn1-xCoxOδ) as a buffer layer for CZTS thin-film solar cells. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 1087 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12851-7

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