Exceeding 20% Efficiency with in situ Group V Doping in Polycrystalline CdTe Solar Cells

Metzger, Wyatt K; Grover, S.; Lu, D.; Colegrove, Eric M; Moseley, John; Perkins, Craig; Li, X.; Mallick, R.; Zhang, W.; Malik, R.; Kephart, J.; Jiang, Chun Sheng; Kuciauskas, Darius; Albin, David S; Al-Jassim, Mowafak M; Xiong, G.; Gloeckler, M.

doi:10.1038/s41560-019-0446-7

Title: Exceeding 20% Efficiency with in situ Group V Doping in Polycrystalline CdTe Solar Cells

Journal Article · Mon Aug 19 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Nature Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-019-0446-7· OSTI ID:1559780

Metzger, Wyatt K ^[1]; Grover, S. ^[2]; Lu, D. ^[2];

^[1]; Moseley, John ^[1]; Perkins, Craig ^[1]; Li, X. ^[2]; Mallick, R. ^[2]; Zhang, W. ^[2]; Malik, R. ^[2]; Kephart, J. ^[2]; Jiang, Chun Sheng ^[1];

^[1]; Albin, David S ^[1]; Al-Jassim, Mowafak M ^[1]; Xiong, G. ^[2]; Gloeckler, M. ^[2]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
First Solar

CdTe-based solar technology has achieved one of the lowest levelized costs of electricity among all energy sources as well as state-of-the-art field stability. Yet, there is still ample headroom to improve. For decades, mainstream technology has combined fast CdTe deposition with a CdCl2 anneal and Cu doping. The resulting defect chemistry is strongly compensated and limits the useful hole density to ~10^14 cm-3, creating a ceiling for fill factor, photovoltage and efficiency. In addition, Cu easily changes energy states and diffuses spatially, creating a risk of instabilities that must be managed with care. Here, we demonstrate a significant shift by doping polycrystalline CdSexTe1-x and CdTe films with As while removing Cu entirely from the solar cell. The absorber majority-carrier density is increased by orders of magnitude to 10^16-10^17 cm-3 without compromising the lifetime, and is coupled with a high photocurrent greater than 30 mA cm-2. We demonstrate pathways for fast dopant incorporation in polycrystalline thin films, improved stability and 20.8% solar cell efficiency.

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

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

DOE Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1559780

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5K00-73704

Journal Information:: Nature Energy, Vol. 4

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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