Two-Dimensional Cadmium Chloride Nanosheets in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells
Abstract
In this paper we make use of a liquid nitrogen-based thermomechanical cleavage technique and a surface analysis cluster tool to probe in detail the tin oxide/emitter interface at the front of completed CdTe solar cells. We show that this thermomechanical cleavage occurs within a few angstroms of the SnO2/emitter interface. An unexpectedly high concentration of chlorine at this interface, ~20%, was determined from a calculation that assumed a uniform chlorine distribution. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to further probe the structure of the chlorine-containing layer, revealing that both sides of the cleave location are covered by one-third of a unit cell of pure CdCl2, a thickness corresponding to about one Cl-Cd-Cl molecular layer. We interpret this result in the context of CdCl2 being a true layered material similar to transition-metal dichalcogenides. Exposing cleaved surfaces to water shows that this Cl-Cd-Cl trilayer is soluble, raising questions pertinent to cell reliability. Our work provides new and unanticipated details about the structure and chemistry of front surface interfaces and should prove important to improving materials, processes, and reliability of next-generation CdTe-based solar cells.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1369128
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5K00-68533
Journal ID: ISSN 1944-8244; TRN: US1701990
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 24; Journal ID: ISSN 1944-8244
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; cadmium chloride; cadmium telluride; nanosheets; solar cells; XPS
Citation Formats
Perkins, Craig L., Beall, Carolyn, Reese, Matthew O., and Barnes, Teresa M. Two-Dimensional Cadmium Chloride Nanosheets in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1021/acsami.7b03671.
Perkins, Craig L., Beall, Carolyn, Reese, Matthew O., & Barnes, Teresa M. Two-Dimensional Cadmium Chloride Nanosheets in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b03671
Perkins, Craig L., Beall, Carolyn, Reese, Matthew O., and Barnes, Teresa M. Fri .
"Two-Dimensional Cadmium Chloride Nanosheets in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b03671. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1369128.
@article{osti_1369128,
title = {Two-Dimensional Cadmium Chloride Nanosheets in Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells},
author = {Perkins, Craig L. and Beall, Carolyn and Reese, Matthew O. and Barnes, Teresa M.},
abstractNote = {In this paper we make use of a liquid nitrogen-based thermomechanical cleavage technique and a surface analysis cluster tool to probe in detail the tin oxide/emitter interface at the front of completed CdTe solar cells. We show that this thermomechanical cleavage occurs within a few angstroms of the SnO2/emitter interface. An unexpectedly high concentration of chlorine at this interface, ~20%, was determined from a calculation that assumed a uniform chlorine distribution. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to further probe the structure of the chlorine-containing layer, revealing that both sides of the cleave location are covered by one-third of a unit cell of pure CdCl2, a thickness corresponding to about one Cl-Cd-Cl molecular layer. We interpret this result in the context of CdCl2 being a true layered material similar to transition-metal dichalcogenides. Exposing cleaved surfaces to water shows that this Cl-Cd-Cl trilayer is soluble, raising questions pertinent to cell reliability. Our work provides new and unanticipated details about the structure and chemistry of front surface interfaces and should prove important to improving materials, processes, and reliability of next-generation CdTe-based solar cells.},
doi = {10.1021/acsami.7b03671},
journal = {ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces},
number = 24,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Fri May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
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