Effect of the Substrate Cleaning Process on Pinhole Formation in Sputtered CdTe Films

Camacho-Espinosa, E.; Oliva-Avilés, A.I.; Oliva, A.I.

doi:10.1007/s11665-017-2842-0

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These factors can affect the coalescence of the grains during the deposition of thin films, and lead to the creation of voids between them and the substrate [ 40 ]. Other factors that may also be associated with the formation of pinholes are related to the presence of particles, such as dust, on the substrate surface, poor cleaning of the substrate, or improper handling before and after deposition that can generate the appearance of defects and scratches [ 39 , 41 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decorative Chromium Coatings on Polycarbonate Substrate for the Automotive Industry

et al. 2023

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Metal-coated plastic parts are replacing traditional metallic materials in the automotive industry. Sputtering is an alternative technology that is more environmentally friendly than electrolytic coatings. Most metalized plastic parts are coated with a thin metal layer (~100–200 nm). In this work, the challenge is to achieve thicker films without cracking or without other defects, such as pinholes or pores. Chromium coatings with different thicknesses were deposited onto two different substrates, polycarbonate with and without a base coat, using dc magnetron sputtering in an atmosphere of Ar. Firstly, in order to improve the coating adhesion on the polymer surface, a plasma etching treatment was applied. The coatings were characterized for a wide thickness range from 800 nm to 1600 nm. As the thickness of the coatings increased, there was an increase in the specular reflectivity and roughness of the coatings and changes in morphology due to the columnar growth of the film and a progressive increase in thermal stresses. Furthermore, a decrease in the hardness and the number of pinholes was noticed. The maximum thickness achieved without forming buckling defects was 1400 nm. The tape tests confirmed that every deposited coating showed a good interface adhesion to both polymers.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decorative Chromium Coatings on Polycarbonate Substrate for the Automotive Industry

et al. 2023

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“…Different concepts to circumvent pinholes or moderate their impact on device performance have been proposed or established. The resistive shunt mitigation discussed in Section appears as a general concept for optimizing the efficiency of real-world thin-film solar cells. ,, In the case of CdTe, pinholes are avoided by simply depositing an absorber layer that is much thicker than is required for efficient photon absorption, , which could generally reduce charge carrier collection efficiency and increase fabrication time and costs. Given that the absorber film contains pinholes, these could be passivated via selectively depositing a highly resistive polymer as is done for CdTe, , a route that has also been explored for perovskites .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an early state of technology, new polycrystalline absorber materials suffer from inhomogeneous films and especially pinholes in the absorber layer . Examples are Sb 2 S 3, , SnS, and lead-free perovskites. , In the case of more optimized lead-based perovskites, the complex mechanisms of film formation from solution , can be controlled by certain spin-coating processes, which yield compact, homogeneous, and pinhole-free perovskite layers for small-scale devices in the lab. − For up-scaled industrial fabrication, spin-coating is not suitable and the applied deposition methods face more processing constraints such as high yields, high throughput, and low solvent toxicity. , As of today, pinholes in the absorber layer remain an issue in up-scaled perovskite fabrication , as well as in the already established thin-film photovoltaic technologies CdTe, − Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS), , and thin-film silicon …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Contact Layers Control Shunting Losses from Pinholes in Thin-Film Solar Cells

et al. 2018

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An absorber layer that does not fully cover the substrate is a common issue for thin-film solar cells such as perovskites. However, models that describe the impact of pinholes on solar cell performance are scarce. Here, we demonstrate that certain combinations of contact layers suppress the negative impact of pinholes better than others. The absence of the absorber at a pinhole gives way to a direct electrical contact between the two semiconducting electron and hole transport layers. The key to understand how pinholes impact the solar cell performance is the resulting nonlinear diodelike behavior of the current across the interface between these two layers (commonly referred to as a shunt current). Based on experimentally obtained data that mimic the current−voltage characteristics across these interfaces, we develop a simple model to predict pinhole-induced solar cell performance deterioration. We investigate typical contact layer combinations such as TiO 2 /spiro-OMeTAD, poly(3,4ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate)/phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester, and TiO 2 /poly(3-hexylthiophene). Our results directly apply to perovskite and other emerging inorganic thin-film solar cells, and the methodology is transferable to CIGS and CdTe. We find substantial differences between five commonly applied contact layer combinations and conclude that it is not sufficient to optimize the contact layers of any real-world thin-film solar cell only with regard to the applied absorber. Instead, in the context of laboratory and industrial fabrication, the tolerance against pinholes (i.e., the mitigation of shunt losses via existing pinholes) needs to be considered as an additional, important objective.

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“…In addition to the substrate nature, the cleaning process of the substrate also significantly affects the quality of thin films. Improper cleaning of substrates results in the formation of pinholes in the film, which creates major issues on the fabrication of large-area devices and produces short circuits in solar cells [ 272 ]. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on this area for CBD deposited o-SnS, c-SnS, SnS 2 , and Sn 2 S 3 thin films.…”

Section: Influence Of Deposition Parameters On Sn X S Y Thin Film Growth and Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental Aspects and Comprehensive Review on Physical Properties of Chemically Grown Tin-Based Binary Sulfides

et al. 2021

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The rapid research progress in tin-based binary sulfides (SnxSy = o-SnS, c-SnS, SnS2, and Sn2S3) by the solution process has opened a new path not only for photovoltaics to generate clean energy at ultra-low costs but also for photocatalytic and thermoelectric applications. Fascinated by their prosperous developments, a fundamental understanding of the SnxSy thin film growth with respect to the deposition parameters is necessary to enhance the film quality and device performance. Therefore, the present review article initially delivers all-inclusive information such as structural characteristics, optical characteristics, and electrical characteristics of SnxSy. Next, an overview of the chemical bath deposition of SnxSy thin films and the influence of each deposition parameter on the growth and physical properties of SnxSy are interestingly outlined.

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Effect of the Substrate Cleaning Process on Pinhole Formation in Sputtered CdTe Films

Cited by 10 publications

References 29 publications

Decorative Chromium Coatings on Polycarbonate Substrate for the Automotive Industry

Decorative Chromium Coatings on Polycarbonate Substrate for the Automotive Industry

How Contact Layers Control Shunting Losses from Pinholes in Thin-Film Solar Cells

Fundamental Aspects and Comprehensive Review on Physical Properties of Chemically Grown Tin-Based Binary Sulfides

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