Effect of Electrochemical Bath Temperature on Cu₂O/ITO Device Properties

The properties of Cu₂O/ITO device, produced by electrodeposition process, are studied. Effect of electrochemical bath temperature on Cu₂O/device characteristics is highlighted. The Cu₂O layers have grown on ITO substrate by electrodeposition route by at kept pH value. The study concerns the Cu₂O layers deposited by electrochemically process using 0.05 M of copper sulfate and C₆H₈O₇ at pH of 11 within the 40 °C–60 °C temperature range. The influence of bath temperature on struc- tural, morphological and cyclic voltammetry (CV) properties of Cu₂O/ITO is studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and computer-controlled potentiostat/galvanostat (Voltalab 40). The Cu thin film thickness ranging from 63 nm to 8.9 μm is estimated from Faraday's law. The XRD patterns indicated that the Cu thin films has a polycrystalline cubic faced centered structures with a (111) preferential orientation. AFM characterization of the deposits shows a roughness surface of the electrodeposited layers and the variation of film morphology with deposition time are established. Sheet resistance and resistivity showed strong dependence on the deposition time of Cu films. Cu thin films will be in the future metal contact for silicon solar cells.