Title :
Grain size effects in a solar cell with extremely thin absorber
Author :
Ernst, K. ; Engelhardt, R. ; Lux-Steiner, M.C. ; Könenkamp, R.
Author_Institution :
Hahn-Meitner-Inst., Berlin, Germany
Abstract :
A solar cell using an extremely thin absorber (eta-solar cell) offers new perspectives in material selection due to short transport distances. We investigate CdTe as an absorber material deposited in a porous matrix of transparent n-type TiO2. The active junction is characterized with respect to optical and photoelectrical efficiencies. We show that the absorptance is enhanced because of light scattering compared to a standard planar setup. Beside the enhancement due to area enlargement and light scattering the crystallite size of the CdTe is shown to have a significant influence on the photocurrent. Both factors lead to a reduction of the local absorber thickness to 200 nm for best efficiency
Keywords :
crystallites; grain size; light scattering; photoconductivity; porous semiconductors; solar cells; titanium compounds; 200 nm; CdTe; TiO2; area enlargement; crystallite size; extremely thin absorber; grain size effects; light scattering; local absorber thickness; material selection; optical efficiencies; photocurrent; photoelectrical efficiencies; porous matrix; short transport distances; solar cell; standard planar setup; transparent n-type TiO2; Crystallization; Grain size; Light scattering; Optical films; Optical materials; Optical scattering; Photovoltaic cells; Space charge; Substrates; Windows;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2000. Conference Record of the Twenty-Eighth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Anchorage, AK
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5772-8
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2000.916006
