CdTe thin film solar cells with a SnTe buffer layer in back contact

Weng, Zeping; Ma, Songsong; Zhu, He; Ye, Zhenyu; Shu, Tianyu; Zhou, Jie; Wu, X.; Wu, Huizhen

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2017.12.018

Cited by 28 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, as shown in Figure , the highest efficiencies in are inaccessible due to the negative CBO. The conclusions would be similar for other small bandgap materials that have been proposed, including SWCNTs , and SnTe . However, these materials could be employed to form a contact between a more suitable buffer layer and a metal .…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

“…The conclusions would be similar for other small bandgap materials that have been proposed, including SWCNTs 27,28 and SnTe. 23 However, these materials could be employed to form a contact between a more suitable buffer layer and a metal. 25 (see the Supporting Information for simulated device response when the metal work function is varied and step-down buffer layers are used).…”

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While today’s back contacts are not likely performance limiting, back barrier heights for ZnTe, which is the commercial contact, were reported to be between 0.3 and 0.5 eV. , Efforts to use other so-called back buffer layers − have resulted in values ranging from 0.15 to 0.3 eV, ,, but the understanding of how these back buffer layers actually operate is quite limited. , Here, we investigate the operation of the absorber/back buffer interface and explore designs to minimize recombination at the back of the device, in a manner that is analogous to the engineering that was done to optimize the emitter/absorber interface. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Role of Back Buffer Layers and Absorber Properties for >25% Efficient CdTe Solar Cells

Liyanage

Phillips

Alfadhili

et al. 2019

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As the performance of the front interface and the CdTe absorber are improved, minority carrier recombination at the back of the device will limit the photoconversion efficiency. To determine the limits of performance, we have completed simulations to understand the loss mechanisms, the band bending, and the energetics at the interface between the absorber and the back contact buffer layer. In particular, we have explored how the conduction and valence band offsets, the doping levels in the back buffer and CdTe layers, and the back surface recombination velocity affect the device performance. These results provide guidance for the development of back contacts that will help push CdTe device efficiencies to 25% and beyond.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Role of Back Buffer Layers and Absorber Properties for >25% Efficient CdTe Solar Cells

Liyanage

Phillips

Alfadhili

et al. 2019

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Tin (IV) telluride is a narrow gap semiconductor with a rock-salt structure, which might remain in a zinc-blende structure for very thin layers grown on CdTe. 94 Weng et al (2018) 95 experimented on solar cells with eight different contact structures all including a final 100 nm thick Ni layer. Half of the structures included a light NP etch (intended to remove oxides), and half had a longer NP etch (to produce a Te-rich surface).…”

Section: Group IV Telluridesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back contacts materials used in thin film CdTe solar cells—A review

Hall

Lamb

Irvine

2021

Energy Science & Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It has reached a high efficiency of 22.1% with a short circuit current density (J sc ) of 31.69 mA/cm 2 [2]. However, the efficiency of reported high-efficiency CdTe solar cells in most labs, usually using n-type CdS as window layers [3][4][5][6][7][8], is lower than 17% because of the low J sc values [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. This is due to the small bandgap (E g ) of CdS film and large lattice mismatch between CdS and CdTe [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Properties of CdSe1−xSx films by magnetron sputtering and their role in CdTe solar cells

Wang

et al. 2020

J Mater Sci: Mater Electron

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

CdS/CdSe composite window layer is a better candidate than CdS or CdSe single layer for CdTe solar cells. In order to find the underlying reason, the properties of co-sputtered CdSe 1-x S x thin films with different compositions (0 x 1) were examined. XRD patterns show that all CdSe 1-x S x films (0 x 1) are polycrystalline with hexagonal structures and the prominent peak position shows an increasing trend with the increase of x. This suggests that CdSe 1-x S x window layer with a gradient composition, formed during the hightemperature growth and heat treatment of CdTe films, has the gradient lattice constant, meaning the less defect density. This is beneficial to the device performance. Hall measurements show that CdS 1-x Se x films (x C 0.772) are n-type semiconductors with carrier concentrations ranging from 10 15 cm -3 to 10 16 cm -3 . It reveals that CdS/CdSe bi-layers can form a strong built-in electric field with CdTe layer as CdS does. The electronic band structure of CdSe 1-x S x window layer with a gradient composition suggests that the spikes formed in the conduction band are lower than 0.3 eV, which would not impede the electron transport. The valence band alignment is beneficial for the hole transport. Therefore, an appropriate band alignment can be formed between CdSe 1-x S x and CdTe layers. These results reveal that CdSe 1-x S x film is a good candidate as the window layer for high-efficiency CdTe solar cells considering its structural, optical and electrical properties as well as its electronic structure.

show abstract

CdTe thin film solar cells with a SnTe buffer layer in back contact

Cited by 28 publications

References 29 publications

The Role of Back Buffer Layers and Absorber Properties for >25% Efficient CdTe Solar Cells

The Role of Back Buffer Layers and Absorber Properties for >25% Efficient CdTe Solar Cells

Back contacts materials used in thin film CdTe solar cells—A review

Properties of CdSe1−xSx films by magnetron sputtering and their role in CdTe solar cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About