Determination of the band structure diagram of semiconductor heterostructures applied in photovoltaics

Recently it has been found that the heterostructures of n-ZnO/p-Si are promising photovoltaic alternatives to silicon homojunctions. It is well known that the energy band diagram of a heterostructure is crucial for the understanding of its operation. This paper analyzes the ZnO/p-Si heterostructure band by using free AMPS-1D computer program simulations. The obtained numerical results are compared with theoretical calculations based on the depletion region approximation model and the Poisson’s equation for electric potential. The results of the simulation are also compared with the experimental C-V characteristics of the test n-ZnO/p-Si heterostructure. The simulated C-V characteristics is qualitatively consistent with the experimental C-V curve, which confirms the correctness of the determined band diagram of the n-ZnO/p-Si heterostructure.