Exploring the potential of semiconducting BaSi2 for thin-film solar cell applications

Semiconducting barium disilicide (BaSi2), which is composed of earth-abundant elements, has attractive features for thin-film solar cell applications. Both a large absorption coefficient comparable to copper indium gallium diselenide and a minority-carrier diffusion length much larger than the grain size of BaSi2 can be used to improve solar cell properties. In this review article, we explore the potential of semiconducting BaSi2 film for thin-film solar cell applications. We start by describing its crystal and energy band structure, followed by discussing thin-film growth techniques and the optical and electrical properties of BaSi2 films. We use a first-principles calculation based on density-functional theory to calculate the position of the Fermi level to predict the carrier type of impurity-doped BaSi2 films using either a group 13 or 15 element, and compare the calculated results with the experimental ones. Special attention was paid to the minority-carrier properties, such as minority-carrier lifetime, minority-carrier diffusion length, and surface passivation. The potential variations across the grain boundaries measured by Kelvin-probe force microscopy allowed us to detect a larger minority-carrier diffusion length in BaSi2 on Si(1 1 1) compared with BaSi2 on Si(0 0 1). Finally, we demonstrate the operation of p-BaSi2/n-Si heterojunction solar cells and discuss prospects for future development.