In this work, CdS thin films were prepared by chemical
bath deposition
(CBD) and Sb2S3–y
Se
y
thin films were prepared by a hydrothermal
method. Solar cells with the architecture of FTO/CdS/Sb2S3–y
Se
y
/spiro-OMeTAD/Au were fabricated to evaluate the
quality of CdS thin films as the electron transport layer. The precise
preparation strategy with the combination of adjusting the thickness
of CdS thin films prepared by CBD and changing the concentration of
the CdCl2 methanol solution in the post-treatment process
was first proposed. When the CdS thin-film thicknesses were 100, 80,
65, and 40 nm and the CdCl2 methanol solution concentration
was 20 mg·mL–1, the power conversion efficiencies
(PCEs) of the corresponding solar cells were 7.32% of 100 nm, 7.62%
of 80 nm, 8.00% of 65 nm, and 7.55% of 40 nm. When the CdS thin-film
thickness was 40 nm and the CdCl2 methanol solution concentrations
decreased to 15, 13.3, 10, and 5 mg·mL–1, the
PCEs were 7.98% of 15 mg·mL–1, 8.46% of 13.3
mg·mL–1, 7.71% of 10 mg·mL–1, and 7.31% of 5 mg·mL–1. Therefore, the 40
nm thick compact and full-coverage CdS thin film without the appearance
of residual CdCl2 can be successfully obtained using the
precise preparation strategy and achieved an optimal PCE of 8.46%.
The precise preparation strategy is also valuable to develop the ultrathin,
compact, and full-coverage CdS thin film as the electron transport
layer for CdTe thin-film solar cells.
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