Nanoscale imaging of photocurrent and efficiency in CdTe solar cells

Leite, Marina S.; Abashin, Maxim; Lezec, Henri J.; Gianfrancesco, Anthony; Talin, A. Alec; Zhitenev, Nikolai B.

doi:10.1021/nn5052585

Title: Nanoscale imaging of photocurrent and efficiency in CdTe solar cells

Journal Article · Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · ACS Nano

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/nn5052585· OSTI ID:1184568

Leite, Marina S. ^[1]; Abashin, Maxim ^[1]; Lezec, Henri J. ^[2]; Gianfrancesco, Anthony ^[2]; Talin, A. Alec ^[3]; Zhitenev, Nikolai B. ^[2]

Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

The local collection characteristics of grain interiors and grain boundaries in thin film CdTe polycrystalline solar cells are investigated using scanning photocurrent microscopy. The carriers are locally generated by light injected through a small aperture (50-300 nm) of a near-field scanning optical microscope in an illumination mode. Possible influence of rough surface topography on light coupling is examined and eliminated by sculpting smooth wedges on the granular CdTe surface. By varying the wavelength of light, nanoscale spatial variations in external quantum efficiency are mapped. We find that the grain boundaries (GBs) are better current collectors than the grain interiors (GIs). The increased collection efficiency is caused by two distinct effects associated with the material composition of GBs. First, GBs are charged, and the corresponding built-in field facilitates the separation and the extraction of the photogenerated carriers. Second, the GB regions generate more photocurrent at long wavelength corresponding to the band edge, which can be caused by a smaller local band gap. As a result, resolving carrier collection with nanoscale resolution in solar cell materials is crucial for optimizing the polycrystalline device performance through appropriate thermal processing and passivation of defect and surfaces.

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Research Organization:: Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000

OSTI ID:: 1184568

Report Number(s):: SAND-2014-19120J; 540723

Journal Information:: ACS Nano, Vol. 8, Issue 11; ISSN 1936-0851

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 52 works

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