Spinel zinc ferrite nanostructured thin-films for enhanced light-harvesting in polycrystalline solar cells

Abstract Spinel zinc ferrite (ZnFe 2 O 4 ) nanocrystallites are applied as an anti-reflection coating (ARC) for the enhanced light harvesting in polycrystalline silicon solar cells (PCSSC) and its effect were studied. Spinel zinc ferrite nanocrystallites were prepared using precursors of zinc and ferric chloride by co-precipitation method. The morphological, optical, electrical characterizations are comprehensively used to establish the performance of spinel ZnFe 2 O 4 Nanostructured Thin Films (NTF) covered and uncovered PCSSC. Further, X-ray diffraction and fluorescence analysis have been performed to demonstrate the crystallographic patterns and elemental compositions of ZnFe 2 O 4 nanocrystallites. The developed spinel ZnFe 2 O 4 NTF on PCSSC shows the reduction in reflectivity (20.3%), improvement in light trapping efficiency (17.5%) and transmittance of the fabricated spinel ZnFe 2 O 4 NTF was validated with optical and electrical observations.