{
  "abstract": "Tellurium dioxide (TeO$_2$) is a wide-bandgap oxide with attractive processing versatility and emerging p-type semiconducting behaviour, making it a promising material system for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. However, TeO$_2$-derived thin films prepared by scalable manufacturing processes, such as vacuum sublimation, can contain residual metallic Te$^0$ species that introduce trap states, limit hole transport, and promote carrier recombination. Here, we demonstrate a selenium alloying strategy to control the defect chemistry of vacuum-sublimed TeO$_x$ films. TeO$_2$:Se powder mixtures (90:10~wt\\%) were thermally evaporated and subsequently annealed in air at 225~$^\\circ$C for up to 9~h, yielding amorphous TeO$_x$:Se films with an optical bandgap of 0.98~eV under optimised conditions. Structural, chemical, optical, and electrical analyses show that prolonged annealing promotes Se redistribution, suppresses residual Te$^0$ to approximately 0.4\\%, reduces the film's surface roughness, and shifts the valence-band edge. To evaluate the potential of TeO$_x$:Se for photovoltaic applications, we fabricated thin-film solar cells with an ITO/ZnO/TeO$_x$:Se/MoO$_x$/Ag architecture. Devices based on an 80~nm TeO$_x$:Se active layer annealed for 9~h exhibit optimal performance, with broadband photocurrent generation from 300 to 1000~nm, yielding an open-circuit voltage of 0.50~V, a short-circuit current density of 8.50~mA~cm$^{-2}$, a fill factor of 0.44, and a maximum power conversion efficiency of approximately 1.87\\%. These results establish selenium-alloyed TeO$_x$ as a viable oxide-derived absorber for thin-film photovoltaics and highlight chemical-state control as an effective route for improving photovoltaic performance.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.38643",
  "author_total": 18,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Zhaoheng Ling"
    },
    {
      "name": "Linqu Luo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chrysa Aivalioti"
    },
    {
      "name": "Temur Maksudov"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mengxi Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Theodoulos Kalogerakis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lazaros Panagiotidis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elefterios Lidorikis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Spyros Doukas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nikolaos Kalfagiannis"
    },
    {
      "name": "Epameinondas Tziortzios"
    },
    {
      "name": "Leonidas Tsetseris"
    },
    {
      "name": "Huihui Zhu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ao Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yong-Young Noh"
    },
    {
      "name": "Martin Heeney"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shadi Fatayer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas D. Anthopoulos"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6kj7jbhrckz54.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.38643",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6kj7jbhrckz54",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38643",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.38643",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6kj7jbhrckz54.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:36:23Z",
      "native_id": "2610.38643",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.38643"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Amorphous selenium-alloyed TeOx thin-film solar cells",
  "title_text": "Amorphous selenium-alloyed TeOx thin-film solar cells",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:20:45Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6kj7jbhrckz54",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}