Properties of ITO-AZO bilayer thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering for applications in thin-film silicon solar cells

In this paper we study the electro-optical behavior and the application of indium-tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) bilayer thin films for silicon solar cells. ITO-AZO bilayer thin films were deposited on glass substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The experimental results show that a decrease in the electrical resistivity of the ITO-AZO bilayer thin films has been achieved without significant degradation of optical properties. In the best case the resistivity of the bilayer films reached a minimum of 5.075 x 10-4 Ω cm when the thickness of the AZO buffer layer was 12 nm. The ITO-AZO bilayer films were applied as the front electrodes of amorphous silicon solar cells and the short-circuit current density of the solar cells was considerably increased. (orig.)