Niobium-doped titanium dioxide (Ti1-xNbxO2) films were grown on p-type Si substrates at low temperature (170 °C) using an atomic layer deposition technique. The as-deposited films were amorphous and showed low electrical conductivity. The films became electrically well-conducting and crystallized into the an anatase structure upon reductive post-deposition annealing at 600 °C in an H2 atmosphere for 30 min. It was shown that the Ti0.72Nb0.28O2/p+-Si heterojunction fabricated on low resistivity silicon (10-3 Ω cm) had linear current-voltage characteristic with a specific contact resistivity as low as 23 mΩ·cm2. As the resistance dependence on temperature revealed, the current across the Ti0.72Nb0.28O2/p+-Si heterojunction was mainly determined by the band-to-band charge carrier tunneling through the junction.
Keywords: TiO2/p-Si heterojunction; atomic layer deposition; solar cells; thin films.