In this work, simple solar cells using cuprous oxide were fabricated and characterized. The solar cells in this experiment used cuprous oxide plate as detecting electrode and copper wires which were woven into a net-shape with a gap size of 2 x 2 cm as a counter electrode. Twenty samples of solar cells were fabricated with oxide layer which were thermally grown in temperature up to 550 ^oC. Samples with variations in oxidation time (15 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, and 45 minutes) and distance between electrodes (2 cm, 3 cm, and 4 cm) with an electrolyte solution of NaCl with molarity of 2.188 mol/l were produced. The samples were characterized by measuring their V-I curve. For this purpose, a simple, own-made solar simulator were fabricated and characterized. Using curve fitting technique, parameters such as FF (Fill Factor), efficiency, open circuit voltage, short circuit current, internal resistance, and performance degradation as a function of time of the cells were extracted. The result shows optimum efficiency of 4.573. 10-⁴%, while optimum oxidation time is 40 minutes and optimum distance between electrodes is 3 cm.

Date Published: 9 January 2015
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 9444, International Seminar on Photonics, Optics, and Its Applications (ISPhOA 2014), 94440L (9 January 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2075179

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9444:
International Seminar on Photonics, Optics, and Its Applications (ISPhOA 2014)
Aulia Nasution, Editor(s)