Abstract
The electrical and optical properties of Fe–O–N films were investigated in order to find their possibilities for solar cell application. Fe–O–N thin films were deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering using an Ar–N2–O2 reactive gas. Under optimum flow rates of nitrogen and oxygen, the Fe–O–N films showed equivalent electrical properties to amorphous Si that has been conventionally used for thin film solar cells. Bandgap narrowing was also observed from 2.0 to 1.9 eV. The observed results were considered to be due to the formation of hematite-magnetite mixed phase, and the introduction of oxygen vacancies and/or nitrogen interstitials.
