Abstract
In this work, novel, stable and environmentally friendly Sn-Mn-Ni based oxide targets were prepared and their thin films were deposited by e-beam evaporation and RF sputtering. After that, feasibilities for optoelectronic applications were discussed. E-beam evaporation was used to deposit thin films in the beginning. Taguchi method was an experiment design tried to find out three factors, portion of element in green compact, post annealing temperature and post annealing environment, which was the most effective factor to dominate the electro-optical characteristics of thin film. The absorption coefficient, carrier concentration, resistivity and crystal structure of thin films were confirmed by UV-Vis, Hall effect measurement and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). After that, the relationships between compositions and properties were discussed. The composition of thin film deposited by e-beam evaporation with highest light absorption in visible region was selected to prepare the target. Partial pressure of oxygen and substrate temperature in sputtering process, post annealing temperature and post annealing environment were four factors chosen to investigate the trends of absorption, carrier concentration and resistivity of thin film. The results showed carrier concentration had positive correlation with the partial pressure of oxygen in deposition and thin films become more transparent after annealing. After that, p-n homo-junction Sn-Mn-Ni oxide solar cells were fabricated. The results revealed a suspected p-n junction which preliminary provided the feasibility of photovoltaic applications of Sn-Mn-Ni based oxide thin film in this study.