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Title: Evolution of oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) during high-temperature CdTe solar cell fabrication

Abstract

Oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) produced by reactive sputtering has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional CdS for use as the n-type window layer in CdTe solar cells. Here, complementary techniques are used to expose the window layer (CdS or CdS:O) in completed superstrate devices and combined with a suite of materials characterization to elucidate its evolution during high temperature device processing. During device fabrication amorphous CdS:O undergoes significant interdiffusion with CdTe and recrystallization, forming CdS1-yTey nanocrystals whose Te fraction approaches solubility limits. Significant oxygen remains after processing, concentrated in sulfate clusters dispersed among the CdS1-yTey alloy phase, accounting for ~30% of the post-processed window layer based on cross-sectional microscopy. Interdiffusion and recrystallization are observed in devices with un-oxygenated CdS, but to a much lesser extent. Etching experiments suggest that the CdS thickness is minimally changed during processing, but the CdS:O window layer is reduced from 100 nm to 60-80 nm, which is confirmed by microscopy. Alloying reduces the band gap of the CdS:O window layer to 2.15 eV, but reductions in thickness and areal density improve its transmission spectrum, which is well matched to device quantum efficiency. The changes to the window layer in the reactive environments of devicemore » fabrication are profoundly different than what occurs by thermal annealing in an inert environment, which produced films with a band gap of 2.4 eV for both CdS and CdS:O. These results illustrate for the first time the significant changes that occur to the window layer during processing that are critical to the performance of CdTe solar cells.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE SunShot Foundational Program to Advance Cell Efficiency (F-PACE)
OSTI Identifier:
1259621
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-66695
Journal ID: ISSN 0927-0248
DOE Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 157; Journal ID: ISSN 0927-0248
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; cadmium telluride; cadmium sulfide; oxygen; interdiffusion; liftoff; characterization

Citation Formats

Meysing, Daniel M., Reese, Matthew O., Warren, Charles W., Abbas, Ali, Burst, James M., Mahabaduge, Hasitha P., Metzger, Wyatt K., Walls, John M., Lonergan, Mark C., Barnes, Teresa M., and Wolden, Colin A. Evolution of oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) during high-temperature CdTe solar cell fabrication. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2016.05.038.
Meysing, Daniel M., Reese, Matthew O., Warren, Charles W., Abbas, Ali, Burst, James M., Mahabaduge, Hasitha P., Metzger, Wyatt K., Walls, John M., Lonergan, Mark C., Barnes, Teresa M., & Wolden, Colin A. Evolution of oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) during high-temperature CdTe solar cell fabrication. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2016.05.038
Meysing, Daniel M., Reese, Matthew O., Warren, Charles W., Abbas, Ali, Burst, James M., Mahabaduge, Hasitha P., Metzger, Wyatt K., Walls, John M., Lonergan, Mark C., Barnes, Teresa M., and Wolden, Colin A. 2016. "Evolution of oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) during high-temperature CdTe solar cell fabrication". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2016.05.038.
@article{osti_1259621,
title = {Evolution of oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) during high-temperature CdTe solar cell fabrication},
author = {Meysing, Daniel M. and Reese, Matthew O. and Warren, Charles W. and Abbas, Ali and Burst, James M. and Mahabaduge, Hasitha P. and Metzger, Wyatt K. and Walls, John M. and Lonergan, Mark C. and Barnes, Teresa M. and Wolden, Colin A.},
abstractNote = {Oxygenated cadmium sulfide (CdS:O) produced by reactive sputtering has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional CdS for use as the n-type window layer in CdTe solar cells. Here, complementary techniques are used to expose the window layer (CdS or CdS:O) in completed superstrate devices and combined with a suite of materials characterization to elucidate its evolution during high temperature device processing. During device fabrication amorphous CdS:O undergoes significant interdiffusion with CdTe and recrystallization, forming CdS1-yTey nanocrystals whose Te fraction approaches solubility limits. Significant oxygen remains after processing, concentrated in sulfate clusters dispersed among the CdS1-yTey alloy phase, accounting for ~30% of the post-processed window layer based on cross-sectional microscopy. Interdiffusion and recrystallization are observed in devices with un-oxygenated CdS, but to a much lesser extent. Etching experiments suggest that the CdS thickness is minimally changed during processing, but the CdS:O window layer is reduced from 100 nm to 60-80 nm, which is confirmed by microscopy. Alloying reduces the band gap of the CdS:O window layer to 2.15 eV, but reductions in thickness and areal density improve its transmission spectrum, which is well matched to device quantum efficiency. The changes to the window layer in the reactive environments of device fabrication are profoundly different than what occurs by thermal annealing in an inert environment, which produced films with a band gap of 2.4 eV for both CdS and CdS:O. These results illustrate for the first time the significant changes that occur to the window layer during processing that are critical to the performance of CdTe solar cells.},
doi = {10.1016/j.solmat.2016.05.038},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1259621}, journal = {Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells},
issn = {0927-0248},
number = ,
volume = 157,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Influence of Sputter Deposition Parameters on Evolution of Oxygenated CdS Window Layers
journal, August 2018