ALD NiO Thin Films As a Hole Transport-Electron Blocking Layer Material for Photo-Detector and Solar Cell Devices

ALD NiO was deposited on silicon and glass substrates by applying alternative pulses of Ni(amd) (AccuDEP TM Ni, Dow Chemical), and water. The film deposition rate at 200°C was 0.25-0.45 Å/cycle. The material properties of the NiO films were characterized using FESEM, AFM, UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer, and GIXRD. The optimized thin ALD NiO film was applied to very thin (500nm) CdTe cells in order to evaluate the potential of the ALD NiO film as a HT-EBL layer. The ALD NiO integrated CdTe cells enhanced Voc and FF, and offered 15% improvement in PCE compared with the control cells.