Effective phototransformation in a heterostructure based on copper(I) oxide and cadmium tin oxide

Abstract

We present a heterostructure consisting of anodic copper oxide Cu2O on a copper substrate and a transparent Cd–Sn–O conducting film for use in solar cells. Focusing on simplicity and the availability of film fabrication techniques, we chose anodic oxidation for forming the Cu2O film and the extraction-pyrolysis technique for forming the transparent Cd–Sn–O conducting layer. We demonstrate the possibility of considerable enhancement of the phototransformation efficiency in the Cu–Cu2O/Cd–Sn–O structure over this parameter in the Cu– Cu2O structure.