For solar energy devices to become affordable to everyone, the need for developing modest techniques should be given priority attention. In our laboratory we have developed very simple methods for preparation of cobalt oxides, CoOOH and Co₃O₄, and nickel oxides NiO and NiOOH. They were deposited on glass substrates from solutions containing ammine complexes of the respective metal ions. For cobalt oxides, the initial deposition was of brown CoOOH, which was converted into black Co₃O₄ by annealing it at 590 K in air. The films were characterized by measuring their optical absorbance, transmittance, and reflectance in the spectral range of 300 - 900 nm. The data were used to calculate the spectral variation of their optical constants. Absorption spectra of the films were analyzed to obtain their optical band gaps. Some possible uses of these films are mentioned, and the prospects of this method for deposition of other oxide films are also discussed.

Date Published: 22 October 1993
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 2017, Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion XII, (22 October 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.161970

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2017:
Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion XII
Carl M. Lampert, Editor(s)