Properties of sputtered CdS and CdTe films and performance of CdTe solar cells as a function of annealing temperature

Min Guo, Xiurong Zhu, Hejun Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Thin film PV devices were fabricated in FTO/CdS/CdTe/Cu/Au superstrate configuration by RF sputtering of CdS and CdTe films, and CdCl2 activation process was performed at 370, 380 and 390°C, respectively. Morphological studies indicated for the first time that there were numerous holes randomly distributed at the as-deposited CdS/CdTe interface; although the holes were reduced after CdCl2 annealing, the p-n junction was greatly improved. Further, the new concept of solar spectrum window width (ΔEg) for the solar cells was demonstrated, and the ΔEg of CdTe solar cells was found to be extended with increasing annealing temperature. Moreover, the efficiency of CdTe solar cells was dramatically improved from 0.02% to 12.02% as a function of annealing temperature, and the values of J 0 and A were reduced with the optimal values (7.2×10-7 mA/cm2 and 1.87), indicating the primary carrier recombination of the best device was Shockley-Real-Hall mechanism in the space charge region.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)917-924
Number of pages8
JournalMaterials Science in Semiconductor Processing
Volume40
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2015

Keywords

  • Annealing
  • II-VI Semiconductors
  • Magnetron sputtering
  • Solar cell

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Properties of sputtered CdS and CdTe films and performance of CdTe solar cells as a function of annealing temperature'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this