Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Silicon Films for Photovoltaic Applications

In semiconductor solar cells, the energy band structure has a major influence on cell efficiency. Shifting the bandgap of the semiconductor to fit the solar radiation spectral will increase the energy conversion efficiency. One way to modify the bandgap is by nanostructuring the material. In this thesis, we introduce a novel nanostructured ITO substrate deposited with an ultrathin silicon film. The glancing angle deposition research group fabricated the ITO substrate at University of Alberta while the amorphous Si film was deposited at Carleton University. The sample was fabricated for optical property study and photovoltaic performance evaluation. An optical absorption and reflection characterization system was set up to measure the thin film semiconductor. The system was based on programmable optical equipment. The fabricated nanostructured Si/ITO film was characterized with this set up and the optical constants such as absorption coefficient and refractive index were extracted.