Investigation of n-type Cu2O layers prepared by a low cost chemical method for use in photo-voltaic thin film solar cells

A low cost and simple chemical method of boiling copper plates in CuSO4 solution is used to prepare Cu2O layers. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) and optical absorption have been used to characterise these layers. It has been found that the layers consist of Cu2O phase with a thickness of about 1.4 μm for 60 minutes boiling in CuSO4 solution. The largest grain sizes are in the order of 1 μm and the layers contain cubic Cu2O phases. The layers are n-type in electrical conduction and the optical band gap observed is 2.2 eV.