New Analytical Method Dedicated to Calculating the Energy Gap Value of NiO/FTO Thin-Film Material of Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract: This paper presents the thin films were fabricated using nickel acetate (Ni) precursors by the spray pyrolysis technique deposited onto fluorine tin oxide (FTO). The placement of the nickel oxide (NiO) solution was made on FTO under 380°C. The NiO films were grown in different concentration solutions which are varied from 0.1 to 0.5 M. This work used many analysis techniques dedicated to photovoltaic system applications. The present study has proposed a new analytical model that ensures a unified formula which defines the energy gap (Eg) value. This new formula used logical steps that allow us to guarantee the variation between the different Eg values. In addition, this paper took a real example of NiO/FTO to validate the proposed model. In addition, this work made the characterization of the thin layers prepared under the influence of the concentration of the nickel solution. The thin films prepared show average optical transparency between 60 and 90% in the visible range and their band gap values are ranged between 3.38 and 3.74 eV. The prepared thin films are dedicated to photovoltaic system applications. © 2022, Allerton Press, Inc.