The effect of sintering conditions on screen-printed CdS films

Author

Kuo, L.C. ; Shei, C.Y. ; Hsu, W.Y. ; Tsai, Y.T. ; Kung, J.H.

Author_Institution

Mater. Res. Lab., ITRI, Hsinchu, Taiwan

fYear

1993

fDate

10-14 May 1993

Firstpage

539

Lastpage

542

Abstract

CdS with a wide and direct bandgap of 2.43 eV is a good window layer material for heterojunction CdS/CdTe solar cells. Screen-printing followed by sintering has been regarded as the most attractive production method because of its low cost, ease in scaling-up and mass production. Microstructural studies of screen-printed CdS film reveal that the firing temperature and the amount of CdCl₂ added are the important factors in controlling the electrical properties of the films. The sintering atmosphere is also critical. Excess oxygen may result in impurities such as CdO, CdSO₄ and Cd crystals

Keywords

II-VI semiconductors; cadmium compounds; crystal microstructure; energy gap; p-n heterojunctions; sintering; solar cells; thick films; 2.43 eV; Cd; CdCl₂; CdO; CdS-CdTe; CdSO₄; atmosphere; bandgap; electrical properties; firing temperature; heterojunction; microstructure; production method; screen-printed CdS films; sintering; solar cells; window layer material; Atmosphere; Crystal microstructure; Crystalline materials; Electric variables measurement; Firing; Impurities; Mass production; Nitrogen; Temperature; X-ray scattering;

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.1993.347037

Filename

347037