Towards understanding junction degradation in cadmium telluride solar cells
- Department of Environment and Sustainability, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 (United States)
A degradation mechanism in cadmium telluride (CdTe/CdS) solar cells is investigated using time-dependent numerical modeling to simulate various temperature, bias, and illumination stress conditions. The physical mechanism is based on defect generation rates that are proportional to nonequilibrium charge carrier concentrations. It is found that a commonly observed degradation mode for CdTe/CdS solar cells can be reproduced only if defects are allowed to form in a narrow region of the absorber layer close to the CdTe/CdS junction. A key aspect of this junction degradation is that both mid-gap donor and shallow acceptor-type defects must be generated simultaneously in response to photo-excitation or applied bias. The numerical approach employed here can be extended to study other mechanisms for any photovoltaic technology.
- OSTI ID:
- 22304026
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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