Innovative Deposition of AZO as Recombination Layer on Silicon Nanowire Scaffold for Potential Application in Silicon/Perovskite Tandem Solar Cell

Grażyna Kulesza-Matlak, Marek Szindler, Magdalena M. Szindler, Milena Kiliszkiewicz, Urszula Wawrzaszek, Anna Sypień, Łukasz Major and Kazimierz Drabczyk ()
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Grażyna Kulesza-Matlak: Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, 25 Reymonta St., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Marek Szindler: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 18A Konarskiego St., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Magdalena M. Szindler: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, 18A Konarskiego St., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Milena Kiliszkiewicz: Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeze Stanisława Wyspianskiego St., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Urszula Wawrzaszek: Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 27 Wybrzeze Stanisława Wyspianskiego St., 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Anna Sypień: Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, 25 Reymonta St., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Łukasz Major: Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, 25 Reymonta St., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Kazimierz Drabczyk: Faculty of Materials, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Bielsko-Biala, 2 Willowa St., 43-309 Bielsko-Biala, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-24

Abstract: Transparent conductive aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were investigated as potential recombination layers for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, comparing the results of atomic layer deposition (ALD) and magnetron sputtering (MS) on vertically aligned silicon nanowire (SiNW) scaffolds. Conformality and thickness control were examined by cross-sectional SEM/TEM and profilometry, revealing fully conformal ALD coatings with tunable thicknesses (40–120 nm) versus tip-capped, semi-uniform MS films (100–120 nm). Optical transmission measurements on glass substrates showed that both 120 nm ALD and MS layers exhibit interference maxima near 450–500 nm and 72–89% transmission across 800–1200 nm; the thinnest ALD films reached up to 86% near-IR transparency. Four-point probe analysis demonstrated that ALD reduces surface resistance from 1150 Ω/□ at 40 nm to 245 Ω/□ at 120 nm, while MS layers achieved 317 Ω/□ at 120 nm. These results delineate the balance between conformality, transparency, and conductivity, providing design guidelines for AZO recombination interfaces in next-generation tandem photovoltaics.

Keywords: tandem solar cell; tandem photovoltaics; AZO; TCO deposition; recombination layer; silicon nanowires; interfacial engineering; optoelectronic properties; charge transporting materials; MAE (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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