skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Carrier providers or killers: The case of Cu defects in CdTe

Abstract

Defects play important roles in semiconductors for optoelectronic applications. Common intuition is that defects with shallow levels act as carrier providers and defects with deep levels are carrier killers. Here, taking the Cu defects in CdTe as an example, we show that relatively shallow defects can play both roles. Using first-principles calculation methods combined with thermodynamic simulations, we study the dialectic effects of Cu-related defects on hole density and lifetime in bulk CdTe. Because CuCd can form a relatively shallow acceptor, we find that increased Cu incorporation into CdTe indeed can help achieve high hole density; however, too much Cu can cause significant non-radiative recombination. We discuss strategies to balance the contradictory effects of Cu defects based on the calculated impact of Cd chemical potential, copper defect concentrations, and annealing temperature on lifetime and hole density. Lastly, these findings advance the understanding of the potential complex defect behaviors of relatively shallow defect states in semiconductors.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  2. Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing (China)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office; SunShot Initiative
OSTI Identifier:
1375310
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1372711
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-69052
Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 111; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; metalloids; semiconductors; charge carriers; hole density; chemical potential

Citation Formats

Yang, Ji -Hui, Metzger, Wyatt K., and Wei, Su -Huai. Carrier providers or killers: The case of Cu defects in CdTe. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4986077.
Yang, Ji -Hui, Metzger, Wyatt K., & Wei, Su -Huai. Carrier providers or killers: The case of Cu defects in CdTe. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4986077
Yang, Ji -Hui, Metzger, Wyatt K., and Wei, Su -Huai. 2017. "Carrier providers or killers: The case of Cu defects in CdTe". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4986077. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1375310.
@article{osti_1375310,
title = {Carrier providers or killers: The case of Cu defects in CdTe},
author = {Yang, Ji -Hui and Metzger, Wyatt K. and Wei, Su -Huai},
abstractNote = {Defects play important roles in semiconductors for optoelectronic applications. Common intuition is that defects with shallow levels act as carrier providers and defects with deep levels are carrier killers. Here, taking the Cu defects in CdTe as an example, we show that relatively shallow defects can play both roles. Using first-principles calculation methods combined with thermodynamic simulations, we study the dialectic effects of Cu-related defects on hole density and lifetime in bulk CdTe. Because CuCd can form a relatively shallow acceptor, we find that increased Cu incorporation into CdTe indeed can help achieve high hole density; however, too much Cu can cause significant non-radiative recombination. We discuss strategies to balance the contradictory effects of Cu defects based on the calculated impact of Cd chemical potential, copper defect concentrations, and annealing temperature on lifetime and hole density. Lastly, these findings advance the understanding of the potential complex defect behaviors of relatively shallow defect states in semiconductors.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4986077},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1375310}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 4,
volume = 111,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jul 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Mon Jul 24 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 23 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Non-Radiative Carrier Recombination Enhanced by Two-Level Process: A First-Principles Study
journal, February 2016


Strategies to increase CdTe solar-cell voltage
journal, May 2007


Hybrid functionals based on a screened Coulomb potential
journal, May 2003


Efficiency of ab-initio total energy calculations for metals and semiconductors using a plane-wave basis set
journal, July 1996


Unusual defect physics in CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite solar cell absorber
journal, February 2014


Dependence of carrier lifetime on Cu-contacting temperature and ZnTe:Cu thickness in CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells
journal, February 2009


A comprehensive picture of Cu doping in CdTe solar cells
journal, November 2013


Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set
journal, October 1996


Defect physics of the kesterite thin-film solar cell absorber Cu2ZnSnS4
journal, January 2010


Review on first-principles study of defect properties of CdTe as a solar cell absorber
journal, July 2016


Cu-related recombination in CdS/CdTe solar cells
journal, February 2008


Overcoming the doping bottleneck in semiconductors
journal, August 2004


The impact of Cu on recombination in high voltage CdTe solar cells
journal, December 2015


CdTe solar cells with open-circuit voltage breaking the 1 V barrier
journal, February 2016


Fabrication procedures and process sensitivities for CdS/CdTe solar cells
journal, September 1999


Carrier density and lifetime for different dopants in single-crystal and polycrystalline CdTe
journal, November 2016


Doping of polycrystalline CdTe for high-efficiency solar cells on flexible metal foil
journal, August 2013


Optical Detection of Cyclotron Resonance in Semiconductors
journal, December 1980


Accelerated stress testing and diagnostic analysis of degradation in CdTe solar cells
conference, August 2008


Works referencing / citing this record:

Exceeding 20% efficiency with in situ group V doping in polycrystalline CdTe solar cells
journal, August 2019


Point defect engineering in thin-film solar cells
journal, June 2018


Thin‐film solar cells exceeding 22% solar cell efficiency: An overview on CdTe-, Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 -, and perovskite-based materials
journal, December 2018