Home      Exposition      To Register      ASM Homepage
Back to "Thermal Spray and other Surface Engineering Technologies Poster Session" Search
  Back to "Poster Session" Search  Back to Main Search

Monday, May 14, 2007

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Using Titanium Oxide Photo Voltaic Devices Fabricated by Different Thermal Plasma Processes

Y. Ando, S. Tobe, Ashikaga Institute of Technology, Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan; H. Tahara, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan

Since Dye sensitized solar cell (DSC) is a solar cell which uses anatase film as photo voltaic device, Production cost of DSC can be very low in comparison with that of silicon solar cell. Besides, according to some theoretical discussion on DSC, the electric power conversion efficiency can be raised to 30%. Therefore, DSC will be mainly used in future. In this study, in order to develop a low cost fabrication process for photo voltaic device of DSC, photo-catalytic titanium oxide film depositions were carried out by thermal plasma CVD (TPCVD) and thermal spraying. As working gas for plasma jet, and substrate, Ar gas and 20mm*40mm*1mm copper plate were used. Feedstock materials were titanium tetra butoxide in TPCVD and rutile powder in thermal spraying. In the DSCs using these films, cathodes (titanium oxide coated electrodes) were located beneath the transparent anodes. Consequently, in the case of TPCVD, anatase dominant film could be deposited and the DSC using this TPCVD film could generate 50mV in electro motive force. Furthermore, even in case of thermal spraying, though rutile powder was used, photo-catalytic coating (anatase and rutile mixture coating) could be obtained by cooling substrate use during coating and post heat treatment. It was confirmed that the electromotive force of the DSC using this thermal spray coating was almost the same as that of the DSC using the TPCVD film. From these results, these thermal plasma processes was found to have high potential for DSC fabrication.


Summary: In order to develop a low cost fabrication rocess for Dye sensitized solar cell, photo-catalytic titanium oxide film depositions were carried out by thermal plasma CVD (TPCVD) and thermal spraying. Consequently, in the case of TPCVD, anatase dominant film could be deposited and DSC using this TPCVD film could generate 50mV in electromotive force. Furthermore, though rutile powder was used, photo-catalytic coating (anatase and rutile mixture coating) could be obtained by cooling substrate use during coating and post heat treatment even in case of thermal spraying.