A new technique for large-area thin film CdS/CdTe solar cells

Aramoto, T.; Adurodija, F. O.; Nishiyama, Y.; Arita, Takaichi; Hanafusa, A.; Omura, K.; Morita, Akiyoshi

doi:10.1016/s0927-0248(02)00161-7

Cited by 43 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…The close space sublimation (CSS) is widely used in CdS (and similar semiconductors) and CdTe thin film deposition in CdTe solar cells (Matsune et al, 2006;Kumazawa et al, 1997;Aramoto et al, 2003;Tsuji et al, 2000;Britta & Ferekides., 1993;Dzhafarov et al, 2005;Enrıquez et al, 2007;Khrypunov et al, 2006;Okamotoet al, 2000;Dhere et al, 1997;Ferekides et al, 2000). CSS is an attractive process and has many advantages.…”

Section: Close Space Sublimation (Css)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although CdTe is most often used in PV devices without being alloyed, it is easily alloyed with zinc, mercury, and a few other elements to vary its properties. Many methods have been used for the fabrication of CdTe layers, for example close-spaced sublimation (CSS) (Chu et al, 1991;Kumazawa et al, 1997;Aramoto et al, 2003;Ferekides et al, 2000), electrodeposition (Gamboa et al, 1999), magnetron sputtering , chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (Meyer & Saura., 1992), and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) (Zoppi et al, 2006) and vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) (Levy-Clement et al, 2002). CdS is one of the most crucial films, which serves as the window layer.…”

Section: Cds/cdte Thin Film Solar Cellmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanocomposites for Photovoltaic Energy Conversion

Zeng¹,

Gan²

2011

Advances in Composite Materials for Medicine and Nanotechnology

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Induction Composite materialsA composite is a multiphase solid material. It is incorporated by two or more individual materials through physical or chemical methods. The performance of different materials to complement each other will produce synergistic effects (Ivanov et al., 2008;Lu et al., 2010). The overall property of composite materials is better than that of each original material to meet different requirements. These properties include mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, electrochemical, catalytic behaviors etc. For example (Lu et al., 2010), investigating the synergistic effect of carbon nano-fiber (CNF) and carbon nano-paper on the shape recovery of shape memory polymer (SMP) composite shows that the combination of CNF and carbon nano-paper can improve the thermal and electrical conductivities of the SMP composite, which are much better than each of the components. The individual materials in a composite are referred to as two constituent materials. The two constituent materials are matrix and reinforcement. The matrix material is a frame to support the reinforcement material. So the reinforcement material can keep its relative position. The reinforcement is a functional material which can enhance the matrix properties. Composite metal matrix (substrates) includes aluminum, copper, titanium, magnesium and its alloys and nonmetallic matrix includes synthesized resin, rubber, ceramics, graphite and carbon and so on. Reinforcement mainly includes glass fiber, carbon fiber, boron fiber , aramid fiber, silicon carbide fiber , asbestos fiber, whisker, metal wire and fine grain etc. In order to make use of synergistic effect to improve composite properties, optimum combination of matrix and reinforcement should be chosen. Nanocomposites and their propertiesA nanocomposite is a special composite where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions less than 100 nanometers (nm, 10 -9 m). A nanocomposite also includes the material where the structures between the different phases that make up the material are in nano-scale (Beecroft & Ober, 1997). In the broadest sense, nanocomposites can also include porous media, colloids, gels and polymers, because in these materials the particles or structures are in nano scale. One nanometer is equivalent to the length to tightly line up www.intechopen.com Advances in Composite Materials for Medicine and Nanotechnology 212 10~100 atoms. Nano-materials include nano-powders, nano-fibers, nano-particles and nanothin films. Their structures are between atom (molecular) size and macro size. Materials in nano-scale have special effects such as quantum size effect, surface effect, small-size effect and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect etc. Quantum size effectQuantum size effect is one of the fundamental physical properties of nano-particles. When the particle size decreases to a nano-scale, the electronic energy levels of the particle atom become discrete and the energy gap becomes wider. This phenomenon is called quantum size effect. This effect does not come into ...

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Section: Close Space Sublimation (Css)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cds/cdte Thin Film Solar Cellmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanocomposites for Photovoltaic Energy Conversion

Zeng¹,

Gan²

2011

Advances in Composite Materials for Medicine and Nanotechnology

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“…Several non-vacuum processes have been developed for Cu(InGa)Se 2 38 and CdTe. 14,15 Non-vacuum processes have two benefits for lower cost manufacturing: lower equipment cost (no vacuum pumps) and higher deposition rates (less re-evaporation). Yet comparable module efficiencies have been achieved.…”

Section: Processing and Manufacturing Issues For Tfscmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thin film solar modules: the low cost, high throughput and versatile alternative to Si wafers

Hegedus

2006

Progress in Photovoltaics

163

106

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Thin film solar cells (TFSC) have passed adolescence and are ready to make a substantial contribution to the world's electricity generation. They can have advantages over c-Si solar modules in ease of large area, lower cost manufacturing and in several types of applications. Factors which limit TFSC module performance relative to champion cell performance are discussed along with the importance of increased throughput and yield. The consensus of several studies is that all TFSC can achieve costs below 1 $/W if manufactured at sufficiently large scale >100 MW using parallel lines of cloned equipment with high material utilization and spray-on encapsulants. There is significant new commercial interest in TFSC from small investors and large corporations, validating the thin film approach. Unique characteristics are discussed which give TFSC an advantage over c-Si in two specific markets: small rural solar home systems and building integrated photovoltaic installations. TFSC have outperformed c-Si in annual energy production (kWhrs/kW), have demonstrated outdoor durability comparable to c-Si and are being used in MW scale installations worldwide. The merits of the thin film approach cannot be judged on the basis of efficiency alone but must also account for module performance and potential for low cost. TFSC advocates should promote their unique virtues compared to c-Si: lower cost, higher kWhr/kW output, higher battery charging current, attractive visual appearance, flexible substrates, long-term stability comparable to c-Si, and multiple pathways for deposition with room for innovation and evolutionary improvement. There is a huge market for TFSC even at today's efficiency if costs can be reduced. A brief window of opportunity exists for TFSC over the next few years due the Si shortage. The demonstrated capabilities and advantages of TFSC must be proclaimed more persistently to funding decision-makers and customers without minimizing the remaining challenges.

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“…However, although ZnO:Al has been used very successfully as the final layer in substrate configuration cells such as copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS), attempts to utilize it as the TCO in superstrate configuration cells such as CdTe, during which it is subjected to subsequent hightemperature processing, have not been very successful. The best reported efficiency of a ZnO/CdS/CdTe device is ~9% [4] compared to 14% [5] for SnO 2 :F TCO on SLG. The limited efficiency previously experienced with ZnO:Al may be due to its thermal instability at high growth/processing temperature (e.g., close-spaced-sublimation (CSS) or vapor-transport-deposition (VTD) techniques) and its instability This we have demonstrated in studies of nitrogen-doped ZnTe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

14% sputtered thin‐film solar cells based on CdTe

Compaan

Gupta

Drayton

et al. 2004

Physica Status Solidi (b)

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Polycrystalline II-VI semiconductor materials show great promise for thin-film photovoltaic cells and modules. Large-area deposition of these II -VI semiconductors such as CdTe is possible by a variety of methods but the use of a plasma-based method such as magnetron sputtering can have significant advantages. Here we present recent results in the fabrication of CdS/CdTe cells using rf magnetron sputtering and discuss some of the advantages that appear possible from the use of sputtering methods in this class of materials. Some of these advantages are particularly relevant as the polycrystalline thin-film PV community addresses issues related to the challenges of fabricating high efficiency tandem cells with efficiencies over 25%. Our best results have been obtained with sputtered ZnO:Al to achieve a CdTe solar cell with 14.0% efficiency at one sun for an air-mass-1.5 global spectrum. In addition, we have studied reactive sputtering of ZnTe:N which shows promise for use as a transparent back contact or recombination junction for alloyed II -VI-based top cells in a tandem solar-cell configuration.

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A new technique for large-area thin film CdS/CdTe solar cells

Cited by 43 publications

References 4 publications

Nanocomposites for Photovoltaic Energy Conversion

Nanocomposites for Photovoltaic Energy Conversion

Thin film solar modules: the low cost, high throughput and versatile alternative to Si wafers

14% sputtered thin‐film solar cells based on CdTe

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