Decoupling Grain-Boundary, Grain-Interior, and Surface Recombination with Cathodoluminescence
In this work, we combine quantitative cathodoluminescence (CL) with time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and numerical simulations to determine grain-boundary, grain-interior, and surface recombination parameters in standard CdTe thin films. CL intensities from thousands of grains are analyzed to accumulate statistics and chart variations with grain size. Grain-boundary contrast results for small grains indicate that the grain-boundary recombination velocity, S GB , decreases significantly with CdCl 2 treatment, but S GB is increased by subsequent Cu-diffusion. Furthermore, within a given sample, data suggests that S GB is nearly independent of grain size. The back-surface recombination velocity, S, is extracted from TRPL measurements incident on the back surface, and CL profiles are simulated to determine the grain-interior lifetime, t GI . Finally, CL intensity vs. grain size relationships are simulated to check for self-consistency of the S GB , S, and t GI values.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1515393
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5K00-73969
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 25-30 June 2017, Washington, D.C.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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