MOCVD of Cd(1−x)Zn(x)S/CdTe PV cells using an ultra-thin absorber layer

Clayton, Andrew, Irvine, Stuart, Jones, E. W., Kartopu, Giray, Barrioz, Vincent and Brooks, William (2012) MOCVD of Cd(1−x)Zn(x)S/CdTe PV cells using an ultra-thin absorber layer. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 101. pp. 68-72. ISSN 0927 0248

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Abstract

Ultra-thin Cd(1−x)Zn(x)S/CdTe devices were produced by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapour deposition (AP-MOCVD) with varying CdTe absorber thicknesses ranging from 1.0 to 0.2 μm and compared to baseline cells with total CdTe thickness of 2.25 μm. The ultra-thin CdTe layers (≤1 μm) were intentionally doped with As to induce p-type conductivity in the absorber. Cell performance reduced with CdTe thickness, with the magnitude of photo-current generation loss becoming more significant for the very thin CdTe layers. The decline in cell performance was lower than the optically limited performance relating to a decrease in shunt resistance, Rsh, especially for the thinnest cells due to areas of incomplete CdTe coverage and large presence of pin-holes leading to micro-shorts. Incorporation of Zn into the CdS window layer improved cell performance for all devices except when 0.2 μm thick CdTe was used. This improvement was markedly in the blue region owing to enhanced optical transparency of the window layer. External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements showed a red-shift of the window layer absorption edge due to leaching out of Zn during the CdCl2 treatment. Reduction of the CdCl2 deposition time was demonstrated to recover the blue response of the ultra-thin cells.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Thin film photovoltaics; CdTe; MOCVD
Subjects:	F200 Materials Science
Department:	Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Depositing User:	Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited:	23 Nov 2015 15:44
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 19:07
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/24697

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