Contacts of solar cells and other optoelectronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12408474-B2
Application number	US-202318151341-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2023
Priority date	Jan 6, 2022
Publication date	Sep 2, 2025
Grant date	Sep 2, 2025

Abstract

Contacts for solar cells and other optoelectronic devices are provided. Embodiments described herein take advantage of the surface Fermi level pinning effect to build an electrical field inside of a semiconductor to extract or inject carriers for solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting device applications. For example, n-type or p-type two-dimensional (2D) materials can be used in contact with an n-type semiconductor to form a “p-region” so that a p-n junction, or an i-n or n-n+ junction can be constructed. Similarly, n-type or p-type 2D materials can be used in contact with a p-type semiconductor to form an “n-region” so that an n-p junction, or an i-p or p-p+ junction can be constructed. These structures can provide sufficiently high electrical field inside the semiconductor to extract photogenerated carriers in solar cells and photodetectors or inject minority carriers for light-emitting devices.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optoelectronic junction, comprising:
a thin-film doped semiconductor; and
a p-contact layer comprising a two-dimensional (2D) material deposited at an interface of the thin-film doped semiconductor forming the optoelectronic junction, a thickness of the two-dimensional (2D) material being chosen to tailor a Fermi level of the two-dimensional (2D) material to overlap or fall below a valence band edge of the thin-film doped semiconductor at the interface,
wherein the thin-film doped semiconductor comprises a p-type semiconductor,
wherein the p-contact layer comprising the two-dimensional (2D) material comprises a single-layer p-type material or a double-layer p-type material, and
wherein the optoelectronic junction is a p-p+ junction.

2. The optoelectronic junction of claim 1 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) material induces a sufficiently high electrical field inside the thin-film doped semiconductor to extract photogenerated carriers from the optoelectronic junction or inject minority carriers into the optoelectronic junction.

3. The optoelectronic junction of claim 1 , further comprises indium tin oxide disposed over the p-contact layer forming an ohmic contact.

4. The optoelectronic junction of claim 1 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises a doped Cu/Au.

5. The optoelectronic junction of claim 1 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) material comprises one of ZnTe:As, ZnTe:Cu, or CuZnS.

6. The optoelectronic junction of claim 5 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises:
a pre-selected work-function and a pre-selected interface recombination.

7. The optoelectronic junction of claim 1 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises:
a single layer or double-layer stack of transition-metal oxide (TMO) and dichalcogenides (TMD) [(Mo, W)(O, S, Se, Te)], and GaSe two-dimensional (2D) materials configured to tailor a work-function of the p-contact layer to realize ohmic hole-selective contact with CdTe.

8. A method for forming a thin-film optoelectronic device, the method comprising:
providing a thin-film doped semiconductor; and
creating a p-contact layer by depositing a two-dimensional (2D) material at an interface of the thin-film doped semiconductor to form an optoelectronic junction,
wherein a thickness of the two-dimensional (2D) material being chosen to tailor a Fermi level of the two-dimensional (2D) material to overlap or fall below a valence band edge of the thin-film doped semiconductor at the interface,
wherein the thin-film doped semiconductor comprises a p-type semiconductor,
wherein the p-contact layer comprising the two-dimensional (2D) material comprises a single-layer p-type material or a double-layer p-type material, and
wherein the optoelectronic diode junction is a p-p+ junction.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
depositing indium tin oxide over the p-contact layer forming an ohmic contact.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) material induces a sufficiently high electrical field inside the thin-film doped semiconductor to extract photogenerated carriers from the optoelectronic diode junction or inject minority carriers into the optoelectronic diode junction.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) material comprises one of:
ZnTe:As, ZnTe:Cu, or CuZnS).

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises a doped Cu/Au.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises:
a pre-selected work-function and a pre-selected interface recombination.

14. A contact for a solar cell comprising a thin-film doped semiconductor, the contact comprising:
a p-contact layer including a two-dimensional (2D) material deposited at an interface of the thin-film doped semiconductor forming an optoelectronic junction, a thickness of the two-dimensional (2D) material being chosen to tailor a Fermi level of the two-dimensional (2D) material to overlap or fall below a valence band edge of the thin-film doped semiconductor at the interface; and
indium tin oxide disposed over the p-contact layer forming an ohmic contact,
wherein the thin-film doped semiconductor comprises a p-type semiconductor,
wherein the p-contact layer comprising the two-dimensional (2D) material comprises a single-layer p-type material or a double-layer p-type material, and
wherein an optoelectronic junction including the thin-film doped semiconductor and the p-contact layer is a p-p+ junction.

15. The contact of claim 14 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) material induces a sufficiently high electrical field inside the thin-film doped semiconductor to extract photogenerated carriers from the optoelectronic junction or inject minority carriers into the optoelectronic junction.

16. The contact of claim 14 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises a doped Cu/Au.

17. The contact of claim 14 , wherein the two-dimensional (2D) material comprises one of ZnTe:As, ZnTe:Cu, or CuZnS.

18. The contact of claim 14 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises a pre-selected work-function and a pre-selected interface recombination.

19. The contact of claim 14 , wherein the p-contact layer comprises a single layer or double-layer stack of transition-metal oxide (TMO) and dichalcogenides (TMD) [(Mo, W) (O, S, Se, Te)], and GaSe two-dimensional (2D) materials configured to tailor a work-function to realize ohmic hole-selective contact with CdTe.

Assignees

• Univ Arizona State

Inventors

• Zhang Yong-Hang
• Qi Xin
• Ju Zheng
• Ding Jia
• Mccarthy Tyler
• Schaefer Stephen

Classifications

• Y02E10/543

  Solar cells from Group II-VI materials · CPC title

• H10F71/00

  Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass (patterning processes to connect thin photovoltaic cells in integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/33; manufacture or treatment of encapsulations or containers for integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/80; manufacture or treatment of integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one element in which radiation controls the flow of current H10F39/00) · CPC title

• H10F71/138

  Manufacture of transparent electrodes, e.g. transparent conductive oxides [TCO] or indium tin oxide [ITO] electrodes · CPC title

• H10F30/222

  the potential barrier being a PN heterojunction · CPC title

• H10F10/16

  Photovoltaic cells having only PN heterojunction potential barriers · CPC title