SnO2/Si solar cells—heterostructure or Schottky-barrier or MIS-type device

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Abstract
The performance of SnO2/Si solar cells has been measured and analyzed in detail. This has given us an insight into cell characteristics never revealed in previous studies. Though the device is a junction between two semiconducting materials, SnO2 and Si, it performs like an MIS device and in the thin‐oxide limit as a Schottky‐barrier device. The dark I‐V characteristics are attributed to a combination of thermionic and diffusion processes. The diode constant associated with the former is close to 2 or higher and that associated with the latter is unity. It has been demonstrated that under certain conditions the diode constant can be independent of the reverse‐saturation current. An MIS‐type model can explain the spectral‐response curve, the short‐circuit photocurrent, the open‐circuit photovoltage, and the light and dark I‐V characteristics. A theoretical limit of the efficiency is estimated for the device.

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