Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by using spin-coating and an annealing process, which can improve the crystallinity and morphology of the thin films. The grain size, optical gap, and atomic contents of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), and sulfur (S) in a CZTS thin film absorber relate to the concentrations of aqueous precursor solutions containing copper chloride (CuCl 2 ), zinc chloride (ZnCl 2 ), tin chloride (SnCl 2 ), and thiourea (SC(NH 2 ) 2 ), whereas the electrical properties of CZTS thin films depend on the annealing temperature and the atomic content ratios of Cu/(Zn + Sn) and Zn/Sn. All of the CZTS films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), Raman spectroscopy, and Hall measurements. Furthermore, CZTS thin film was deposited on an n-type silicon substrate by using spin-coating to form an Mo/p-CZTS/n-Si/Al heterostructured solar cell. The p-CZTS/n-Si heterostructured solar cell showed a conversion efficiency of 1.13% with V oc = 520 mV, J sc = 3.28 mA/cm 2 , and fill-factor (FF) = 66%.

Amorphous titanium oxide (a-TiOx:OH) films prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition at 200 and 25 °C are in turn deposited onto the GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) to enhance the associated light extraction efficiency. The refractive index, porosity, and photocatalytic effect of the deposited films are correlated strongly with the deposition temperatures. The efficiency is enhanced by a factor of ∼1.31 over that of the uncoated LEDs and exhibited an excellent photocatalytic property after an external UV light irradiation. The increase in the light extraction is related to the reduction in the Fresnel transmission loss and the enhancement of the light scattering into the escape cone by using the graded-refractive-index a-TiOx:OH film with porous structures.

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In this study, we propose a liquid-phase-deposited silver nanoparticle embedded ZnO (LPD-Ag NP/ZnO) thin film at room temperature to improve the light extraction efficiency (LEE) for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The treatment solution for the deposition of the LPD-Ag/NP ZnO thin film comprised a ZnO-powder-saturated HCl and a silver nitrate (AgNO3) aqueous solution. The enhanced LEE of an InGaN/GaN LED with the LPD-Ag NP/ZnO window layer can be attributed to the surface texture and localized surface plasmon (LSP) coupling effect. The surface texture of the LPD-Ag/NP ZnO window layer relies on the AgNO3 concentration, which decides the root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of the thin film. The LSP resonance or extinction wavelength also depends on the concentration of AgNO3, which determines the Ag NP size and content of Ag atoms in the LPD-Ag NP/ZnO thin film. The AgNO3 concentration for the optimal LEE of an InGaN/GaN LED with an LPD-Ag NP/ZnO window layer occurs at 0.05 M, which demonstrates an increased light output intensity that is approximately 1.52 times that of a conventional InGaN/GaN LED under a 20-mA driving current.

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We fabricated the photonic-crystal-structured p-GaN (PC-structured p-GaN) nanorods using the modified polystyrene nanosphere (PS NS) lithography method for InGaN/GaN green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to enhance the light extraction efficiency (LEE). A modified PS NS lithography method including two-times spin-coating processes and the post-spin-coating heating treatment was used to obtain a self-assembly close-packed PS NS array of monolayer as a mask and then a partially dry etching process was applied to PS NS, SiO2, and p-GaN to form PC-structured p-GaN nanorods on the InGaN/GaN green LEDs. The light output intensity and LEE of InGaN/GaN green LEDs with the PC-structured p-GaN nanorods depend on the period, diameter, and height of PC-structured p-GaN nanorods. RSoft FullWAVE software based on the three-dimension finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm was used to calculate the LEE of InGaN/GaN green LEDs with PC-structured p-GaN nanorods of the varied period, diameter, and height. The optimal period, diameter, and height of PC-structured p-GaN nanorods are 150, 350, and 110 nm. The InGaN/GaN green LEDs with optimal PC-structured p-GaN nanorods exhibit an enhancement of 41% of emission intensity under the driving current of 20 mA as compared to conventional LED.