Abstract
Based on its band alignment, p-type nickel oxide (NiOx) is an excellent candidate material for hole transport layers in crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells, as it has a small ΔEV and large ΔEC with crystalline silicon. Herein, to overcome the poor hole selectivity of stoichiometric NiOx due to its low carrier concentration and conductivity, silver-doped nickel oxide (NiOx:Ag) hole transport layers with high carrier concentrations were prepared by co-sputtering high-purity silver sheets and pure NiOx targets. The improved electrical conductivity of NiOx was attributed to the holes generated by the Ag+ substituents for Ni2+, and moreover, the introduction of Ag+ also increased the amount of Ni3+ present, both of which increased the carrier concentration in NiOx. Ag+ doping also reduced the c-Si/NiOx contact resistivity and improved the hole-selective contact with NiOx. Furthermore, the problems of particle clusters and interfacial defects on the surfaces of NiOx:Ag films were solved by UV-ozone oxidation and high-temperature annealing, which facilitated separation and transport of carriers at the c-Si/NiOx interface. The constructed c-Si/NiOx:Ag solar cell exhibited an increase in open-circuit voltage from 490 to 596 mV and achieved a conversion efficiency of 14.4%.