Impact of sputter-instigated plasmonic features in TCO films: for ultrathin photovoltaic applications

The structural and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) and Ga-doped MgZnO (GMZO) individual films are analyzed. Sputter-instigated plasmonic features are observed in individual GZO and GMZO films due to the formation of metal and metal oxide nanoclusters. The plasmon generation is verified by electron energy loss spectra obtained by ultraviolet-photoelectron spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and field-emission scanning-electron microscopy measurements. This is promising in terms of increasing the efficiency of the solar cell by increasing the optical path length in the absorbing layer while keeping the same physical length by light scattering and trapping mechanism.