Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells

Compaan, Alvin D.; Plotnikov, Victor V.

Title: Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells

Abstract

A photovoltaic cell structure is disclosed that includes a buffer/passivation layer at a CdTe/Back contact interface. The buffer/passivation layer is formed from the same material that forms the n-type semiconductor active layer. In one embodiment, the buffer layer and the n-type semiconductor active layer are formed from cadmium sulfide (CdS). A method of forming a photovoltaic cell includes the step of forming the semiconductor active layers and the buffer/passivation layer within the same deposition chamber and using the same material source.

Inventors:: Compaan, Alvin D.; Plotnikov, Victor V.

Issue Date:: 2014-09-09

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

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE

OSTI Identifier:: 1157082

Patent Number(s):: 8829342

Application Number:: 13/515,686

Assignee:: The University of Toledo (Toledo, OH)

Patent Classifications (CPCs):: H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y02 - TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

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H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/076 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
H01L31/022441 - {Electrode arrangements specially adapted for back-contact solar cells}
H01L31/02008 - {for solar cells or solar cell modules}

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y02 - TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
Y02E10/50 - Photovoltaic [PV] energy

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/073 - comprising only AIIBVI compound semiconductors, e.g. CdS/CdTe solar cells

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y02 - TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
Y02E10/547 - Monocrystalline silicon PV cells

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/022425 - {for solar cells}

B - PERFORMING OPERATIONS B82 - NANOTECHNOLOGY B82Y - SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES
B82Y20/00 - Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/075 - the potential barriers being only of the PIN type
H01L31/02167 - {for solar cells}

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y02 - TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
Y02E10/543 - Solar cells from Group II-VI materials

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/1828 - {the active layers comprising only AIIBVI compounds, e.g. CdS, ZnS, CdTe}
H01L31/0725 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells

B - PERFORMING OPERATIONS B82 - NANOTECHNOLOGY B82Y - SPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES
B82Y10/00 - Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic

Y - NEW / CROSS SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES Y02 - TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE Y02E - REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
Y02E10/548 - Amorphous silicon PV cells

H - ELECTRICITY H01 - BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS H01L - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
H01L31/077 - the devices comprising monocrystalline or polycrystalline materials

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Resource Type:: Patent

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 14 SOLAR ENERGY

Citation Formats


                    Compaan, Alvin D., and Plotnikov, Victor V. Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells.  United States: N. p., 2014. 
        Web.

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                    Compaan, Alvin D., & Plotnikov, Victor V. Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells.  United States.

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                    Compaan, Alvin D., and Plotnikov, Victor V. Tue .  
        "Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells".  United States.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1157082.

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@article{osti_1157082,

  title        = {Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells},

  author       = {Compaan, Alvin D. and Plotnikov, Victor V.},

  abstractNote = {A photovoltaic cell structure is disclosed that includes a buffer/passivation layer at a CdTe/Back contact interface. The buffer/passivation layer is formed from the same material that forms the n-type semiconductor active layer. In one embodiment, the buffer layer and the n-type semiconductor active layer are formed from cadmium sulfide (CdS). A method of forming a photovoltaic cell includes the step of forming the semiconductor active layers and the buffer/passivation layer within the same deposition chamber and using the same material source.},

  doi          = {},

  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2014},

  month        = {9}

}

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Works referenced in this record:

High efficiency, magnetron sputtered CdS/CdTe solar cells
journal, December 2004

Compaan, Alvin D.; Gupta, Akhlesh; Lee, Sunghyun
Solar Energy, Vol. 77, Issue 6, p. 815-822
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2004.06.013

High efficiency ultra-thin sputtered CdTe solar cells
journal, September 2006

Gupta, Akhlesh; Parikh, Viral; Compaan, Alvin D.
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 90, Issue 15, p. 2263-2271
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2006.02.029

High efficiency 1 micron thick sputtered CdTe solar cells
conference, January 2005

Gupta, A.; Compaan, A. D.
Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005.
https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2005.1488112

10% efficiency solar cells with 0.5 µm of CdTe
conference, June 2009

Plotnikov, V. V.; Kwon, DoHyoung; Wieland, K. A.
2009 34th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC)
https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2009.5411312

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Title: Back contact buffer layer for thin-film solar cells

Abstract

Citation Formats

High efficiency, magnetron sputtered CdS/CdTe solar cells journal, December 2004

High efficiency ultra-thin sputtered CdTe solar cells journal, September 2006

High efficiency 1 micron thick sputtered CdTe solar cells conference, January 2005

10% efficiency solar cells with 0.5 µm of CdTe conference, June 2009

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journal, December 2004

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journal, September 2006

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conference, January 2005

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conference, June 2009