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Title: Influence of CdTe Deposition Temperature and Window Thickness on CdTe Grain Size and Lifetime After CdCl2 Recrystallization

Abstract

Grain structure influences both transport and recombination in CdTe solar cells. Larger grains generally are obtained with higher deposition temperatures, but commercially it is important to avoid softening soda-lime glass. Furthermore, depositing at lower temperatures can enable different substrates and reduced cost in the future. We examine how initial deposition temperatures and morphology influence grain size and lifetime after CdCl2 recrystallization. Techniques are developed to estimate grain distribution quickly with low-cost optical microscopy, which compares well with electron backscatter diffraction data providing corroborative assessments of exposed CdTe grain structures. Average grain size increases as a function of CdCl2 temperature. For lower temperature close-spaced sublimation CdTe depositions, there can be more stress and grain segregation during recrystallization. However, the resulting lifetimes and grain sizes are similar to high-temperature CdTe depositions. The grain structures and lifetimes are largely independent of the presence and/or interdiffusion of Se at the interface, before and after the CdCl2 treatment.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)
  2. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  3. Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1422693
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-68664
Journal ID: ISSN 2156-3381
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2156-3381
Publisher:
IEEE
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; cadmium telluride; charge carrier lifetime; grain boundaries; grain size; photovoltaic cells; semiconductor devices; thin film devices

Citation Formats

Amarasinghe, Mahisha, Colegrove, Eric, Moutinho, Helio, Albin, David, Duenow, Joel, Johnston, Steve, Kephart, Jason, Sampath, Walajabad, Al-Jassim, Mowafak, Sivananthan, Siva, and Metzger, Wyatt K. Influence of CdTe Deposition Temperature and Window Thickness on CdTe Grain Size and Lifetime After CdCl2 Recrystallization. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1109/JPHOTOV.2018.2790701.
Amarasinghe, Mahisha, Colegrove, Eric, Moutinho, Helio, Albin, David, Duenow, Joel, Johnston, Steve, Kephart, Jason, Sampath, Walajabad, Al-Jassim, Mowafak, Sivananthan, Siva, & Metzger, Wyatt K. Influence of CdTe Deposition Temperature and Window Thickness on CdTe Grain Size and Lifetime After CdCl2 Recrystallization. United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2018.2790701
Amarasinghe, Mahisha, Colegrove, Eric, Moutinho, Helio, Albin, David, Duenow, Joel, Johnston, Steve, Kephart, Jason, Sampath, Walajabad, Al-Jassim, Mowafak, Sivananthan, Siva, and Metzger, Wyatt K. 2018. "Influence of CdTe Deposition Temperature and Window Thickness on CdTe Grain Size and Lifetime After CdCl2 Recrystallization". United States. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2018.2790701. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1422693.
@article{osti_1422693,
title = {Influence of CdTe Deposition Temperature and Window Thickness on CdTe Grain Size and Lifetime After CdCl2 Recrystallization},
author = {Amarasinghe, Mahisha and Colegrove, Eric and Moutinho, Helio and Albin, David and Duenow, Joel and Johnston, Steve and Kephart, Jason and Sampath, Walajabad and Al-Jassim, Mowafak and Sivananthan, Siva and Metzger, Wyatt K.},
abstractNote = {Grain structure influences both transport and recombination in CdTe solar cells. Larger grains generally are obtained with higher deposition temperatures, but commercially it is important to avoid softening soda-lime glass. Furthermore, depositing at lower temperatures can enable different substrates and reduced cost in the future. We examine how initial deposition temperatures and morphology influence grain size and lifetime after CdCl2 recrystallization. Techniques are developed to estimate grain distribution quickly with low-cost optical microscopy, which compares well with electron backscatter diffraction data providing corroborative assessments of exposed CdTe grain structures. Average grain size increases as a function of CdCl2 temperature. For lower temperature close-spaced sublimation CdTe depositions, there can be more stress and grain segregation during recrystallization. However, the resulting lifetimes and grain sizes are similar to high-temperature CdTe depositions. The grain structures and lifetimes are largely independent of the presence and/or interdiffusion of Se at the interface, before and after the CdCl2 treatment.},
doi = {10.1109/JPHOTOV.2018.2790701},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1422693}, journal = {IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics},
issn = {2156-3381},
number = 2,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 23 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Tue Jan 23 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}

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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Optical microscopy images of (left to right) as-deposited, 425°C and 475°C CdCl2 temperatures taken by illuminating the back surface of CdTe for (top to bottom) 75-, 150-, and 300-nm CdSe thicknesses.

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Back-surface recombination, electron reflectors, and paths to 28% efficiency for thin-film photovoltaics: A CdTe case study
journal, February 2019


Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.