Effects of heat treatment on diffusion of Cu atoms into CdTe single crystals
- Department of Physics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Amherst, New York 14260 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 43606 (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)
Angular dependence of x-ray fluorescence and x-ray absorption fine structure techniques have been used to study the diffusion of Cu atoms into the photovoltaic material CdTe. Depth profile, effective valency, and local structure of Cu atoms in a Cu-doped single crystal of CdTe were investigated before and after a second heat treatment. Enhanced Cu diffusion into the CdTe single crystal was observed as a result of heating at a moderate temperature around 200 degree sign C, resulting in a redistribution of the Cu impurities through a broader depth profile. Some of the Cu atoms are believed either to form small complexes with Te or occupy interstitial sites in the host but accompanied by a large local lattice distortion while others substitute for Cd on the cation sites. The results thus demonstrate that these nondestructive x-ray characterization methods are useful for probing microstructural changes in CdTe photovoltaic materials/devices in which some Cu-containing compounds are used as back contacts. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.
- OSTI ID:
- 20216731
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 76, Issue 25; Other Information: PBD: 19 Jun 2000; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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