Physical Vapour Deposition of Metal Oxide Charge Transport and Absorber Layers for Emerging Photovoltaics

This research develops scalable vacuum coating methods for next-generation solar cells. The work uses magnetron sputtering to deposit ultrathin metal oxide films for perovskite solar cells. By systematically controlling oxygen levels, temperature, and pressure during deposition, the study minimizes electrical losses at critical interfaces. A bilayer tin oxide architecture achieves solar cells with 24% power conversion efficiency, among the highest reported using this manufacturing technique. The work also demonstrates high-throughput combinatorial sputtering to discover novel magnesium-bismuth oxide materials by depositing compositional gradients across single substrates. This methodology establishes a direct experimental pathway for bridging computational predictions with thin-film realisation and evaluating new oxide systems with potential for optoelectronic and absorber-layer applications.