Kesterite semiconductors such as Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 have received a great deal of attention from scientific community for solar cell applications since they present p-type conductivity, direct band-gap transitions, a relatively high absorption coefficient and a band-gap that can be tailored in the range of 1.0-1.5 eV as a function of Se/S compositional ratio. Besides, these materials are based on abundant and low toxicity elements. In spite of the great effort carried out by the scientific community to promote device performance, Kesterite solar cell efficiency is still limited to values lower than 13%. In this sense, new strategies are required to overcome currently reported values. In this paper, a minireview on the state of the art concerning Kesterite solar cell technology is presented. Different current trends to promote Kesterite solar cell efficiency are presented and discussed.
The II-IV semiconductor compound, CdTe, has suitable electrical and optical properties as photovoltaic and high-energy radiation sensor material. As an absorber material for thinfilm-based solar cells, CdTe holds the potentiality to fabricate high-efficiency solar cells by means of low-cost technologies. This chapter presents a comprehensive review on the CdTe thin-film deposition techniques as well as on the several configurations for the solar cell structures that have led the best efficiency conversion. Current CdTe thin-film deposition techniques include sputtering, close spaced vapor transport (CSVT), chemical spray pyrolysis, and electrodeposition. These techniques have easily been adapted to deposit polycrystalline CdTe films on various flexible and rigid substrates. In regard to the device structure configuration, a variety of partner materials (transparent contact, optical window, buffer layer) were tested, and CdTe film thickness was varied to develop opaque and semitransparent devices by some techniques mentioned above. In this chapter, we will discuss about each technique used for CdTe thin-film deposition as well as its advantages and disadvantages.
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