The morphology, microstructure and luminescent properties of CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells

Author

Al-Jassim, M.M. ; Hasoon, F.S. ; Jones, K.M. ; Keyes, B.M. ; Matson, R.J. ; Moutinho, H.R.

Author_Institution

Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO, USA

fYear

1993

fDate

10-14 May 1993

Firstpage

459

Lastpage

465

Abstract

The morphology, microstructure and the luminescent properties of CdS and CdTe films were studied. The CdS films were grown by the solution growth method. The CdTe was deposited by either close space sublimation or physical vapor deposition. As-grown CdS films were polycrystalline with a grain size in the 200-600 Å range. Significant grain growth and reduction in defect density were observed in these films after CdCl₂ heat treatment. The CdTe films exhibited a high density of grain boundaries and structural defects within the grains. Both grain boundaries and intragrain defects are very active recombination sites. CdCl₂ treatment effected a marked grain growth and reduction in the recombination efficiency of the grain boundaries and intragrain defects

Keywords

II-VI semiconductors; cadmium compounds; crystal morphology; electron-hole recombination; grain boundaries; grain growth; heat treatment; luminescence; semiconductor growth; semiconductor thin films; solar cells; 200 to 600 A; CdCl₂; CdCl₂ heat treatment; CdS films; CdS-CdTe; CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells; active recombination sites; close space sublimation; defect density reduction; grain boundaries; grain growth; grain size; intragrain defects; luminescent properties; microstructure; morphology; physical vapor deposition; polycrystalline; recombination efficiency; solution growth method; structural defects; Atomic force microscopy; Grain boundaries; Grain size; Heat treatment; Microstructure; Morphology; Photovoltaic cells; Scanning electron microscopy; Substrates; Transistors;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1993., Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE

Conference_Location

Louisville, KY

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1220-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1993.347138

Filename

347138