Performance improvement in CdTe solar cells by modifying the CdS/CdTe interface with a Cd treatment

The performance of n-CdS/p-CdTe solar cells is often degraded under light soaking or thermal stress, even though the technology of CdTe solar cells is close to a commercial level. The Cu diffusion from a Cu back contact to a CdS window layer might degrade the cell's performance. To prevent the Cu diffusion, a very-thin intrinsic CdTe layer was introduced at the n-CdS/p-CdTe interface by depositing a very-thin Cd metal layer on the CdS film and converting the Cd metal into intrinsic CdTe during p-CdTe deposition at high temperature. By the Cd treatment on CdS surface, pinholes or voids were eliminated at the CdS/CdTe and the intermixing of Te and S at the interface was much suppressed. The depletion width was much increased and the intensity of LTPL peak was increased. The analysis suggested that an intrinsic CdTe interlayer was formed and the surface recombination rate was suppressed by the intrinsic interlayer. As a result, the short circuit current of the CdTe solar cell was significantly increased due the increased current gain in the blue wavelength region. The thermal stability of the CdTe solar cell was also greatly improved and the Cu diffusion was retarded by the intrinsic CdTe interlayer at the n-CdS/p-CdTe.     

Recombination-induced voltage-dependent photocurrent collection loss in CdTe thin film solar cell

Recently, the efficiency of CdTe thin film solar cell has been improved by using new type of window layer Mg_xZn_1-xO (MZO). However, it is hard to achieve such a high efficiency as expected. In this report a comparative study is carried out between the MZO/CdTe and CdS/CdTe solar cells to investigate the factors affecting the device performance of MZO/CdTe solar cells. The efficiency loss quantified by voltage-dependent photocurrent collection efficiency (η_C(V')) is 3.89% for MZO/CdTe and 1.53% for CdS/CdTe solar cells. The higher efficiency loss for the MZO/CdTe solar cell is induced by more severe carrier recombination at the MZO/CdTe p—n junction interface and in CdTe bulk region than that for the CdS/CdTe solar cell. Activation energy (E_a) of the reverse saturation current of the MZO/CdTe and CdS/CdTe solar cells are found to be 1.08 eV and 1.36 eV, respectively. These values indicate that for the CdS/CdTe solar cell the carrier recombination is dominated by bulk Shockley—Read—Hall (SRH) recombination and for the MZO/CdTe solar cell the carrier recombination is dominated by the p—n junction interface recombination. It is found that the tunneling-enhanced interface recombination is also involved in carrier recombination in the MZO/CdTe solar cell. This work demonstrates the poor device performance of the MZO/CdTe solar cell is induced by more severe interface and bulk recombination than that of the CdS/CdTe solar cell.     

Deep level transient spectroscopy investigation of deep levels in CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells with Te:Cu back contact

Deep levels in Cds/CdTe thin film solar cells have a potent influence on the electrical property of these devices. As an essential layer in the solar cell device structure, back contact is believed to induce some deep defects in the CdTe thin film. With the help of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), we study the deep levels in CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells with Te:Cu back contact. One hole trap and one electron trap are observed. The hole trap H1, localized at E_v+0.128~eV, originates from the vacancy of Cd (V_Cd. The electron trap E1, found at E_c-0.178~eV, is considered to be correlated with the interstitial Cu_i⁼ in CdTe.     

Short-circuit current improvement in CdTe solar cells by combining a ZnO buffer layer and a solution back contact

Conventional CdTe solar cells have a CdS window layer, in which an absorption loss of photons with more than 2.4 eV occurs through the CdS layer. A thinner CdS layer was applied to enhance light transmission and a ZnO buffer layer with a band gap of 3.3 eV was introduced to suppress shunting through the thinner CdS window layer. A 100-nm thick ZnO layer sputter-deposited at 300 °C had uniform coverage on a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) after a subsequent high-temperature process. The ZnO layer was effective in preventing shunting through the CdS window layer so that the open-circuit voltage and fill factor of the CdTe solar cells were recovered and the short-circuit current was enhanced over that of the conventional CdTe solar cell. In the ZnO/CdS/CdTe configuration, the short-circuit current was further improved throughout the visible wavelength region by replacing the Cu-metal contact with a Cu solution contact. As a result the short-circuit current from 21.7 to 26.1 mA/cm² and the conversion efficiency of the CdTe solar cell increased from 12 to 15% without antireflective coating. Our result indicates that the Cu solution back contact is a critical factor for achieving a higher cell efficiency in addition to ZnO buffer layer.     

ZnS/CdS复合窗口层对CdTe太阳能电池短波光谱响应的影响

采用磁控溅射法制备了ZnS/CdS复合窗口层,并将其应用于CdTe太阳能电池。对所制备薄膜的形貌和结构等进行了研究。测试了具有不同窗口层的CdTe太阳电池的量子效率和光Ⅰ-Ⅴ特性,分析了ZnS薄膜制备条件对CdTe电池器件性能影响;研究了CdS薄膜厚度和ZnS/CdS复合窗口层对短波区透过率以及CdTe太阳电池的光谱响应的影响。着重研究了具有ZnS/CdS复合窗口层的CdTe太阳电池的短波光谱响应。结果表明,CdS窗口层厚度从100 nm减至50 nm后,其对短波区光子透过率平均提高了18.3%,CdTe太阳电池短波区光谱响应平均提高了27.6%。衬底温度250 ℃条件下制备的ZnS晶粒尺寸小于室温下制备的ZnS。具有ZnS/CdS复合窗口层的CdTe电池中,采用衬底温度250 ℃沉积ZnS薄膜来制备窗口层的电池器件,其性能要优于室温下沉积ZnS制备窗口层的电池器件。这说明晶粒尺寸的大小对电子输运有一定影响。在相同厚度CdS的前提下,具有ZnS/CdS复合窗口层的CdTe电池比具有CdS窗口层在短波的光谱响应提高了约2%。这说明ZnS/CdS复合窗口层能够做到减少对短波光子的吸收,从而使更多的光子被CdTe电池的吸收层吸收。     

CdTe/CdS太阳电池I-V，C-V特性研究

测量了CdTe太阳电池器件从50kHz至1MHz频率范围的电容-电压特性，计算了吸收层的载流子浓度和空间电荷区的位置，电容-电压特性测试结果出现两个峰，峰特征与测试频率有关，用多结模型进行模拟分析，解释了实验结果.测量了电池从220K至300K的变温暗电流-电压特性，得出电池的反向暗饱和电流密度J₀和二级管理想因子A，分析了J₀，A随测量温度的变化,并讨论了电池器件的电流特性. 关键词： CdTe太阳电池 电流-电压特性 电容-电压特性     

CdTe,核 壳型CdTe/CdS及CdTe/ZnS量子点的合成及表征

在水相中制备了半导体CdTe纳米晶,核 壳型CdTe/CdS和CdTe/ZnS纳米晶（即量子点;QDs）.利用扫描隧道显微镜（STM）和荧光光谱(FS)对合成的纳米晶量子点进行了研究,并且根据FS的数据进行了量子效率的计算.STM的结果表明合成的量子点直径约为3 nm并且分布良好.为了提高量子效率,对Cd2+浓度和Cd2+∶S2－比例等反应条件进行了研究,结果表明随着回流时间的增加,核 壳型量子点CdTe/CdS的量子效率总体上呈下降趋势.CdTe/CdS在pH8.5,Cd2+∶S2－=10∶1（摩尔比）时可获得80.0%的最大量子效率.同时制备了核 壳型量子点CdTe/ZnS,其最大发射波长由551 nm（CdTe）红移到635 nm（CdTe/ZnS）表明量子点的尺寸在增长,但是量子效率下降到14.4%. 当前研究的量子点可适用于生物标记,生物成像,以及基于共振能量转移的生物传感研究.     

不同温度下制备的CdTe薄膜对太阳电池光电性能的影响

在不同温度下用近空间升华法（CSS）制备了CdTe多晶薄膜,结合I-V,C-V特性及深能级瞬态谱研究了不同温度制备的CdTe薄膜对CdS/CdTe太阳电池性能的影响.结果表明,制备温度对电池组件的开路电压影响不大,对短路电流和填充因子有影响,CdTe薄膜的深中心对温度和频率的响应基本一致.580℃制备的样品暗饱和电流密度最小,载流子浓度较高,光电特性较好,而且空穴陷阱浓度较低,深中心复合作用较小.在此研究基础上制备出了面积为300 mm×400 mm 关键词： 制备温度 CdTe薄膜 深能级瞬态谱（DLTS） CdS/CdTe太阳电池     

CdS/CdTe薄膜太阳电池的深能级瞬态谱和光致发光研究

用深能级瞬态谱和光致发光研究了无背接触层的CdS/CdTe薄膜太阳电池的杂质分布和深能级中心.得到了净掺杂浓度在器件中的分布.确定了两个能级位置分别在E_V+0365 eV和E_V+0282 eV的深中心,它们的浓度分别为167×10¹² cm^-3和386×10¹¹ cm^-2,俘获截面分别为143×10^-14cm²和153×10^-16cm².它们来源于以化学杂质形式存在的Au和（或）Te_Cd^-复合体,或与氩氧气氛下沉积CdTe时的氧原子相关. 关键词： 深能级瞬态谱 光致发光 CdS/CdTe太阳电池     

CdTe薄膜太阳电池背接触的研究

用近空间升华法制备了CdTe多晶薄膜，用硝酸-磷酸(NP)混合液对薄膜表面进行了腐蚀.经SEM观测，腐蚀后的CdTe薄膜晶界变宽，XRD测试发现，经NP腐蚀后，在CdTe薄膜表面生成了一层高电导的富Te层.在腐蚀后的CdTe薄膜上分别制备了Cu，Cu/ZnTe：Cu，ZnTe：Cu，ZnTe/ZnTe：Cu四种背接触层，比较了它们对太阳电池性能的影响.结果表明，用ZnTe/ZnTe：Cu复合层作为背接触层的效果较好，获得了面积为0.5cm²，转换效率为13.38%的CdTe多晶薄膜太 关键词： 硝磷酸腐蚀 背接触层 CdTe太阳电池     

用光电子能谱研究CdTe太阳电池的背接触特性

CdTe太阳电池的背电极须采用高功函数金属。通过采用光电子能谱(XPS)分析了高功函数金属Au和Ni分别作为背电极的CdTe太阳电池背接触特性,发现在背电极剥离后,Au在ZnTe/ZnTe∶Cu背接触层表面以Au单质形式存在,扩散深度较浅;Ni扩散到ZnTe/ZnTe∶Cu复合层的深度比Au大,且大多呈离子态,与ZnTe/ZnTe∶Cu复合层中的富Te离子形成Ni_xTe,提高了掺杂浓度,使电池性能获得改善。在两样品中还发现,不论是Te的峰还是Zn的峰,其峰的位移变化都很小,说明两样品中Te和Zn的存在形式没有发生变化。     

Thermally evaporated CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells: Optimization of CdCl2 evaporation treatment on absorber layer

CdCl₂ treatment is crucial in the fabrication of highly efficient CdS/CdTe thin-film solar cells. This study reports a comprehensive analysis of thermal evaporated CdS/CdTe thin-film solar cells when the CdTe absorber layer is CdCl₂ annealed at temperatures from 340 to 440 °C. Samples were characterized for structural, optical, morphological and electrical properties. The films annealed at 400 °C showed better crystallinity with a cubic zinc blende structure having large grains. Higher refractive index, optical conductivity, and absorption coefficient were recorded for the CdTe films annealed at 400 °C with CdCl₂. Optimum photoactive properties for CdS/CdTe thin-film solar cells were also obtained when samples were annealed at 400 °C for 20 min with CdCl₂, and the best device exhibited V_OC of 668.4 mV, J_SC of 13.6 mA cm⁻², FF of 53.9% and an efficiency of 4.9%.     

Defect studies in small CdTe clusters

We study Cd vacancy formation in prototype stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric CdTe clusters with and without passivation. For certain clusters like Cd₁₃Te₁₆, vacancy leads to severe distortion of the geometry due to propagation of defect. Annealing of the vacancy out of the cluster is observed in all unpassivated clusters. Passivated clusters retain their initial geometry and vacancy induced structural distortions are not seen in these clusters since the defect gets localized. Vacancy also induces intragap states. However, it was observed that the passivation of the dangling bonds created by the vacancy removes the intragap states. In an attempt to have CdTe clusters with extrinsic carriers, we substituted a Cd atom by its adjacent atoms Pd/Ag/In/Sn in these CdTe clusters. Substitutional doping of Cd by metal atoms increases the stability of unpassivated clusters. For certain clusters, metal atom doping leads to a half-metallic character. Pd/Ag-doped clusters are p-type semiconductors whereas In-doped clusters are n-type semiconductors. Sn doping in these clusters does not result in n-type semiconductors.     

化学水浴法制备大面积CdS薄膜及其光伏应用

采用化学水浴法制备了大面积CdS多晶薄膜,研究了薄膜的形貌、结构和光学性质,结果表明,大面积CdS多晶薄膜具有良好的均匀性,通过优化CdS多晶薄膜,制成了不同CdS窗口层厚度的CdTe小面积太阳电池,减薄CdS薄膜可有效提高器件的短路电流,改善器件性能.随后,在面积30cm×40cm的衬底上制备了全面积为993.6cm²的CdTe太阳电池组件,其27个集成单元的电学性质较为均匀,太阳电池组件的光电转换效率8.13%. 关键词： 化学水浴法(CBD) CdS薄膜 CdTe太阳电池 CdTe太阳电池组件     

CdTe太阳电池中起因于Cu的深能级

在CdTe太阳电池中,易引入并形成Cu深能级中心. 本文采用深能级瞬态谱测试法研究了ZnTe背接触和石墨背接触CdTe太阳电池的部分深能级中心. 研究中运用密度泛函相关理论,分析闪锌矿结构CdTe,Cd空位体系和掺Cu体系的电子态密度,计算得出T_d场和C_3v场下Cu²⁺ d轨道的分裂情况. 计算结果表明,CdTe太阳电池中的E_v+0206 eV和E_v+0122 eV两个深中心来源于Cu替代Cd原子. 计算结果还表明,掺入Cu可降低CdTe体系能量. 关键词： 深能级瞬态谱 第一性原理 CdTe Cu杂质     

基于氧化镍背接触缓冲层碲化镉薄膜太阳电池的研究

采用电子束蒸发法制备了NiO薄膜,并对其作为碲化镉薄膜太阳电池背接触缓冲层材料进行了相关研究.NiO缓冲层的加入使得碲化镉太阳电池开路电压显著增大.通过X射线光电子能谱测试得到的NiO/CdTe界面能带图表明NiO和CdTe的能带匹配度很好.NiO是宽禁带P型半导体材料,在电池背接触处形成背场,减少了电子在背表面处的复合,从而提高电池开路电压.通过优化NiO薄膜厚度,制备得到转换效率为12.2%、开路电压为789 mV的碲化镉太阳电池.研究证实NiO是用来制备高转换效率、高稳定性碲化镉薄膜太阳电池的一种极有前景的缓冲层材料.     

肖特基势垒对CdS/CdTe薄膜电池J-V暗性能的影响

采用数学模拟方法分析了不同背接触势垒高度(φ_b) 对于CdS/CdTe薄膜电池的J-V(电流密度-电压)方程的影响, 得出了势垒高度与roll-over的变化对应关系. 采用相应Cu/Mo背电极的CdS/CdTe薄膜电池在220-300 K的变温J-V曲线的数值分析与理论分析相对照, 分析了背势垒对于J-V曲线拟合参数的影响. 修正了φ_b 与反向饱和电流(J_b0)关系式, 理论与实验符合得非常好. 关键词： CdS/CdTe薄膜 伏安特性 肖特基势垒 roll-over     

磁控溅射Cl掺杂CdTe薄膜的孪晶结构与电学性质

CdTe用作薄膜太阳能电池吸收层需要经过氯处理才能得到高的光电转换效率,其中Cl原子的作用机理仍然没有完全被理解.实验发现Cl原子主要偏聚在CdTe晶界处,对晶界有钝化作用,而有第一性原理计算认为Cl原子掺入CdTe晶格能够引入浅能级提高光电转换效率.为了验证Cl原子掺杂是否对CdTe的光电转换效率有益,本文通过磁控溅射制备了100 ppm(ppm=1/1000000)Cl原子掺杂的CdTe(CdTe:Cl)薄膜并研究了薄膜的晶体结构与电学性质,同时对比了正常氯处理的无掺杂CdTe薄膜与CdTe:Cl薄膜之间的性质区别.实验发现Cl原子掺杂会在CdTe:Cl中形成大量仅由几个原子层构成的孪晶,电子和空穴在CdTe:Cl薄膜中没有分离的传导通道,而在氯处理后的CdTe薄膜中电子沿晶界传导,空穴沿晶粒内部传导.磁控溅射沉积的CdTe:Cl多晶薄膜属于高阻材料,退火前载流子迁移率很低,退火后载流子浓度降低到本征数量级,电阻率提高.CdTe:Cl薄膜电池效率远低于正常氯处理的无掺杂CdTe薄膜电池效率.磁控溅射制备的非平衡重掺杂CdTe:Cl多晶薄膜不适合用作薄膜太阳能电池的吸收层.     

CdTe多晶薄膜沉积制备及其性能

在氩气和氧气混合气氛下,近空间升华法制备了CdTe多晶薄膜。薄膜的结构、性质决定于整个沉积过程。深入研究沉积过程中的热交换、物质输运,有助于获得结构致密具有良好光电性质的CdTe薄膜。分析了近空问沉积的物理机制,测量了近空间沉积装置内的温度分布,讨论了升温过程、气压与薄膜的初期成核的关系。结果表明,不同气压下制备的样品,均有立方相CdTe。此外,还有CdS和SnO2：F衍射峰。CdTe晶粒随气压增加有减小趋势;随气压的增加,透过率呈下降趋势,相应的CdTe吸收边向短波方向移动。采用衬底温度500℃,源温度620℃,在120℃的温差下,沉积时间4min上制备CdTe多晶薄膜,获得转换效率优良的结构为SnO2：F／CdS／CdTe／Au的集成电池。     

Thermal neutron damage in CdS and CdTe

Photoluminescence and electrical resistivity changes in CdS and CdTe produced by thermal neutrons are discussed. The damage is produced principally by the neutron capture reaction ¹¹³Cd (n,y) ¹¹⁴Cd. Since the reaction product ¹¹⁴Cd is stable, complications arising from impurity introduction is minimal. The cumulative recoil nuclear recoil energy is about 143 eV, but is not the recoil energy at the time atomic displacement occurs. Thermal and fast neutrons enhance the CdS luminescence band at 7200A in the ratio of 28:1, but the resistivity changes are in the ratio of 40:1 Cd interstitial is suggested as the luminescence center. Hall measurements on n-type CdTe suggest that only Cd defects are produced for low thermal neutron doses. The acceptor introduction rate is about 1.0 to 0.6, compared to 0.098 for CdS. These are in good agreement with the values reported by R. O. Chester. The fast neutron effects in high resistivity CdS reported by Johnson indicate the need for further measurement.