Photoelectrochemical Properties of Iron-Oxide Films and the Coating Effects onto n-Si as an Efficient Photoanode

Abstract
The photoelectrochemical properties of iron-oxide thin films prepared by various techniques have been investigated extensively, and it was found that the quantum efficiency of the photoresponse is low for visible light. Iron-oxide films have been used in fabricating heterostructure electrodes composed of Si coated with iron-oxide. This iron-oxide/Si heterostructure has been characterized by X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy and capacitance measurements, and Auger analysis has shown that the substances of the heterostructure interdiffuse deep across the interface. Some possible energy diagrams for the heterostructure are proposed.