Sputter-deposited WOx and MoOx for hole selective contacts

Reactive sputter deposited tungsten and molybdenum oxide (WOx, MoOx) thin films are tested for their ability to form a hole selective contact for Si wafer based solar cells. A characterization approach based on analyzing the band bending induced in the c-Si absorber and the external and implied open-circuit voltage of test structures was used. It is shown that the oxygen partial pressure allows to tailor the selectivity to some extent and that a direct correlation between induced band bending and hole selectivity exists. Although the selectivity of the sputtered films is inferior to the reference films deposited by thermal evaporation, these results demonstrate a good starting point for further optimizations of sputtered WOx and MoOx towards higher work functions to improve the hole selectivity. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.