Effect of substrate temperature on indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films deposited by jet nebulizer spray pyrolysis and solar cell application

This study focused on the effect of substrate temperature (350 °C, 400 °C, and 450 °C) on morphological, optical, and electrical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) films deposited onto porous silicon/sodalime glass substrates through jet nebulizer spray pyrolysis for use in heterojunction solar cells. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of pure and single-phase In₂O₃ for all the deposited films whose crystallinity was enhanced with increasing substrate temperature, as shown by the increasing (222) peak intensity. Morphological observations were conducted using scanning electron microscopy to reveal the formation of continuous dense films composed of nanograins. The UV–vis spectra revealed that the transmittance increased with increasing substrate temperature, reaching a value of over 80% at 450 °C. The photoelectric performance of the solar cell was studied using the I–V curve by illuminating the cell at 100 mW/cm². A high efficiency (η) of 3.325% with I_sc and V_oc values of 14.8 mA/cm² and 0.60 V, respectively, was attained by the ITO solar cell annealed at 450 °C.