Sputtered metal oxide broken gap junctions for tandem solar cells

Broken gap metal oxide tunnel junctions have been created for the first time by sputtering. Using a ceramic ZnO-SnO₂ target and a reactively sputtered copper target we deposited ZnSnO₃ and Cu₂O for the n-type and p-type layers, respectively. The band edges and work functions of these materials are suitable for favorable alignment with the bands of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) for a tandem CIGS-based solar cell applications. Total junction specific resistivities under 1 Ω-cm² have been achieved with Ohmic current-voltage (I-V) characteristics pointing to a broken gap band alignment. Low temperature I-V measurements confirmed the lack of traps at the interface despite other measurements pointing to an interface where bands overlap. Cu₂O films contained copper inclusions, but they were shown, by conductive atomic force microscopy, not to be the dominant paths for conduction across the junction. Post-deposition annealing of junctions demonstrated thermal stability up to 300 °C, and the ability to improve conduction and influence device material's electron affinity by rapid thermal anneal (RTA). Optical transmission over 78% below a band gap of 2.4 eV was attained for as-deposited films.