Electron beam induced effects in CdTe photovoltaics

The authors used a SEM technique to measure in situ EBIC decay in CdTe photovoltaic cells. They have observed: (i) EBIC signal shows a considerable, continuous decay depending on the electron-beam current, scan area, energy, and sample treatment; (ii) the characteristic decay time differs considerably between samples of different recipes, some of them showing remarkable stability; and (iii) the decay rate fluctuates between different spots on the same sample. Their phenomenological model relates the observed decay to defects caused by radiation in semiconductor absorber layer