Doped 3C-SiC Towards Solar Cell Applications

Abstract: The market for renewable energy sources, and solar cells in particular is growing year by year, as a result there is a large interest in research on new materials and new technologies for solar power applications. In this thesis the photovoltaic properties of cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) has been investigated. The research includes material growth using the sublimation epitaxy method, both n-type and p-type SiC have been investigated. 3C-SiC pn junctions have been produced and their electrical properties have been characterized, this is the first time 3C-SiC pn junctions have been studied in the research group. Photoresponse has been demonstrated from a 3C-SiC pn junction with Al and N used as p- and ntype dopants. This is the first demonstrated solar cell performance using 3C-SiC, to our knowledge.