Polycrystalline Thin Film Materials and Devices, Final Subcontract Report, 16 January 1990 - 15 January 1993

Technical Report · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10189352· OSTI ID:10189352

Birkmire, R. W.; Phillips, J. E.; Shafarman, W. N.; Hegedus, S. S.; McCandless, B. E.; Yokimcus, T. A.

This report describes results and conclusions of the final phase (III) of a three-year research program on polycrystalline thin-film heterojunction solar cells. The research consisted of the investigation of the relationships between processing, materials properties, and device performance. This relationship was quantified by device modeling and analysis. The analysis of thin-film polycrystalline heterojunction solar cells explains how minority-carrier recombination at the metallurgical interface and at grain boundaries can be greatly reduced by the proper doping of the window and absorber layers. Additional analysis and measurements show that the present solar cells are limited by the magnitude of the diode current, which appears to be caused by recombination in the space charge region. Developing an efficient commercial-scale process for fabricating large-area polycrystalline, thin-film solar cells from a research process requires a detailed understanding of the individual steps in making the solar cell, and their relationship to device performance and reliability. The complexities involved in characterizing a process are demonstrated with results from our research program on CuInSe{sub 2}, and CdTe processes.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 10189352
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP-451-5755; ON: DE93018213
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501
360601
360602
360606
CADMIUM TELLURIDE SOLAR CELLS
CADMIUM TELLURIDES
COPPER SELENIDE SOLAR CELLS
COPPER SELENIDES
DEPOSITION
DOPED MATERIALS
ELECTRICAL TESTING
GRAIN BOUNDARIES
INDIUM SELENIDE SOLAR CELLS
INDIUM SELENIDES
MATERIALS
MICROSTRUCTURE
PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERSION
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLYCRYSTALS
PREPARATION AND MANUFACTURE
PROGRESS REPORT
RECOMBINATION
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SOLAR CELLS
SPECTRAL RESPONSE
STRUCTURE AND PHASE STUDIES
THIN FILMS
photovoltaics
polycrystalline
solar cells
thin films