Electrodeposited cuprous oxide on indium tin oxide for solar applications

Abstract Semiconducting cuprous oxide films were prepared by electrodeposition onto commercial conducting glass coated with indium tin oxide deposited by spraying technique. The cuprous oxide (Cu2O) films were deposited using a galvanostatic method from an alkaline CuSO4 bath containing lactic acid and sodium hydroxide at a temperature of 60°C. The film's thickness was about 4–6 μm. This paper includes discussion for Cu2O films fabrication, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry studies, optical properties and experimental results of solar cells. The values of the open circuit voltage Voc of 340 mV and the short circuit current density Isc of 245 μA/cm2 for ITO/Cu2O solar cell were obtained by depositing graphite paste on the rear of the Cu2O layer. It should be stressed that these cells exhibited photovoltaic properties after heat treatment of the films for 3 h at 130°C. An electrodeposited layer of Cu2O offers wider possibilites for application and production of low cost cells, both in metal–semiconductor and hetero-junction cell structures, hence the need to improve the photovoltaic properties of the cells.