Thermomechanical Lift-Off and Recontacting of CdTe Solar Cells

McGott, Deborah L.; Kempe, Michael D.; Glynn, Stephen; Bosco, Nick; Barnes, Teresa M.; Haegel, Nancy M.; Wolden, Colin A.; Reese, Matthew O.

doi:10.1021/acsami.8b16476

Thermomechanical Lift-Off and Recontacting of CdTe Solar Cells

Journal Article · Wed Nov 28 23:00:00 EST 2018 · ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b16476· OSTI ID:1502346

McGott, Deborah L. ^[1]; Kempe, Michael D. ^[2]; Glynn, Stephen ^[2]; Bosco, Nick ^[2]; Barnes, Teresa M. ^[2]; Haegel, Nancy M. ^[2]; Wolden, Colin A. ^[3]; Reese, Matthew O. ^[2]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

Controlled delamination of thin-film photovoltaics (PV) post-growth can reveal interfaces that are critical to device performance yet are poorly understood because of their inaccessibility within the device stack. In this work, we demonstrate a technique to lift off thin-film solar cells from their glass substrates in a clean, reproducible manner by first laminating a polymeric backsheet to the device and then thermally shocking the system at low temperatures (T ≤ -30 degrees C). To enable clean delamination of diverse thin-film architectures, a theoretical framework is developed and key process control parameters are identified. Focusing on cadmium telluride (CdTe) devices, we show that the lamination temperature and device architecture control the quality of lift-off, while the rate at which the film stack is removed is controlled by the delamination temperature. Crack-free CdTe devices are removed and successfully recontacted, recovering up to 80% of the original device efficiency. The areal density of these devices is ~0.4 kg m^-2, a reduction of over an order of magnitude relative to their initial weight on glass. The framework developed here provides a pathway toward both the development of inexpensive, flexible PV with high specific power and the study of previously buried interfaces in thin-film architectures.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: United States Department of the Navy, US Office of Naval Research

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1502346

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5K00-71596

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Journal Name: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Journal Issue: 51 Vol. 10; ISSN 1944-8244

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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