Optimization and integration of room temperature RF sputtered ICO as TCO layers in high-performance SHJ solar cells

In this work, we optimize cerium-doped indium oxide – ICO – thin films with respect to sputtering parameters such as oxygen flow, deposition pressure, applied RF power. Optimized 35-nm-thick ICO layer demonstrated a mobility of 44.22 cm 2 /Vs, a carrier concentration of 1.65 × 10 20 /cm 3 , and a resistivity of 8.56 × 10 −4 Ω cm. Application of such layers into front/back contact silicon heterojunction (FBC-SHJ) solar cells enhanced the short-circuit current density ( J SC ) by 0.67 when compared to SHJ cell endowed with tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), respectively. This enhancement yielded an absolute power conversion efficiency (PCE) improvement of 0.55 %, reaching efficiencies of around 23.6 % for devices with ICO layers. • ICO films have been deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature. •Higher mobility and lower absorption are observed when compared to baseline ITO. •J sc boost of 0.67 mA/cm 2 for ICO observed. •0.55 % absolute PCE increase with ICO showcased. •With ∼23.6 % PCE, ICO demonstrated to be a promising TCO.