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The effect of SnO{sub 2} roughness on the properties of CdTe/CdS solar cells

Book ·
OSTI ID:302522
; ;  [1]
  1. Univ. of South Florida, FL (United States)

Tin oxide is the most commonly used transparent conducting oxide for CdTe solar cells. Its properties are critical to solar cell performance, in particular when CdS films of small thicknesses are utilized. Using thin CdS films to enhance the photocurrent of CdTe solar cells typically leads to lower V{sub oc}`s and ff`s. This is believed to be due to the presence of pinholes in CdS which lead to the direct contact of the CdTe layer with SnO{sub 2}. The main objective of this work is to study the effect of the roughness/grain size of the SnO{sub 2} films on the performance of CdTe solar cells. It has been found that as the roughness/grain size of the SnO{sub 2} increases, the performance of CdTe cells fabricated using thin CdS films improves.

Sponsoring Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
OSTI ID:
302522
Report Number(s):
CONF-970953--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English