LIQUID JUNCTION PHOTOELECTRODES USING AMORPHOUS SILICON-BASED THIN FILM SEMICONDUCTOR

摘要

An amorphous silicon semiconductor alloy (32 and 34) having multiple layers (38 and 58) (42 and 60) is used to form a photoelectrode (either a photoanode (14) or a photocathode (16) for use in a photoelectrochemical cell (10) for the photoelectrolysis of water to produce hydrogen or the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. Each layer of the semiconductor alloy has a different dopant concentration ranging from no dopant to a heavy dopant concentration. The semi-conductor alloy of the photoelectrode is a -Si:F:H or a-Si:Hx deposited on a reflective layer (28 and 30) of aluminum of molybdenum which is deposited on a substrate (24 and 28) of glass or stainless steel. A tunnelable oxide layer (62) can be deposited or intrinsically formed to cover and protect the top surface (60) of the semiconductor alloy body. The photoanode is of an n-type configuration while the photocathodes can be either a p-type or a P-I-N type configuration.