Hydrogen induced mobility enhancement in RF sputtered Cu2O thin films

Polycrystalline Cu2O thin films were prepared on c-sapphire substrates by reactive radio-frequency sputtering at various temperatures between 500 and 925K employing a metallic target and utilizing an argon/hydrogen/oxygen gas mixture. It is demonstrated that the use of hydrogen in the sputter deposition process beneficially affects the transport properties of the Cu2O films obtained. Correlating the amount of hydrogen incorporated into the thin films, the film morphology and the transport and luminescence properties demonstrate that in this approach hydrogen is predominantly accumulated at the grain boundaries of the polycrystalline films, leading to a lower film resistivity due to the reduction of grain boundary scattering. It is demonstrated that a suitable employment of hydrogen in the growth process of Cu2O material for solar cell applications improves the material properties significantly. Published by AIP Publishing.