Dye sensitized solar cells incorporating obliquely deposited titanium oxide layers

Porous films of titanium oxide were deposited by oblique reactive electron beam evaporation. Both as-deposited and annealed samples of these films were structurally characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The as-deposited films were found to consist of amorphous columns with a very fine structure while the annealed films consisted of polycrystalline anatase columns whose fine structure showed evidence of conglomeration. These films were sensitized with a photoactive dye and implemented into a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) configuration as the electron collecting electrode. Solar cells incorporating annealed titanium oxide films fabricated at deposition angles between 60degrees and 75degrees produced higher short current densities than conventional DSSC based on colloidal TiO2 film measured under the same conditions. The best performing solar cell incorporating annealed titanium oxide films was found to have a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 4.1%. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.