Surfactant-Assisted Growth of CdS Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications
A common nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100, was used to modify the chemical bath deposition of CdS 'buffer' layers on Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) thin films. Addition of the surfactant to the CdS deposition bath allowed increased wetting of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} substrates and an increase in the uniformity of films, especially on model hydrophobic substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy data demonstrate that films produced with the surfactant have the same chemical and electronic properties as films grown without it. In CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} devices, it was found that Triton X-100 allowed the use of CdS layers that were three to four times thinner than those used normally in high efficiency CIGS-based devices and eliminated the large drops in open-circuit voltage that usually accompany very thin buffer layers. For these thin CdS layers and relative to devices made without the surfactant, average absolute cell efficiencies were increased from 10.5% to 14.8% or by a relative 41%. Visual inspection of the CdS depositions reveals one possible mechanism of the surfactant's effects: Bubbles that form and adhere to the CIGS surface during the chemical bath deposition are almost completely eliminated with the addition of the TX-100. Thus, junction nonuniformities, pinholes, and thin areas in the CdS layer caused by poor wetting of the substrate surface are sharply reduced, leading to large increases in the open-circuit voltage in devices produced with the surfactant.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 976978
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 24, Issue 3, May/June 2006
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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