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3D Distributions of Chlorine and Sulphur Impurities in a Thin-Film Cadmium Telluride Solar Cell

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2018

Thomas A. M. Fiducia ,
Kexue Li ,
Amit H. Munshi ,
Kurt Barth ,
Walajabad S. Sampath ,
Chris R. M. Grovenor  and
John M. Walls
Thomas A. M. Fiducia*
Affiliation:
Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
Kexue Li
Affiliation:
Materials Department, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PH, United Kingdom
Amit H. Munshi
Affiliation:
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
Kurt Barth
Affiliation:
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
Walajabad S. Sampath
Affiliation:
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
Chris R. M. Grovenor
Affiliation:
Materials Department, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PH, United Kingdom
John M. Walls
Affiliation:
Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
*
*(Email: t.a.m.fiducia@lboro.ac.uk)
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Abstract

A cadmium chloride activation treatment is essential for the production of high efficiency cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells. However, the effects of the treatment on the distributions of chlorine and sulphur within the device are not fully understood. Here, the detailed locations of chlorine and sulphur in a treated CdTe cell are determined in three dimensions by high resolution dynamic SIMS measurements. Chlorine is found to be present in grain boundaries, grain interiors, extended defects within the grain interiors, at the front interface, and in the cadmium sulphide layer. In each of these regions, the chlorine is likely to have significant effects on local electronic properties of the material, and hence overall device performance. Sulphur is found to have a U-shaped diffusion profile within CdTe grains, indicating a mixed grain boundary and lattice diffusion regime.

Keywords

photovoltaicthin filmsecondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS)
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 3 , Issue 56: Energy Materials and Technologies , 2018 , pp. 3287 - 3292
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018 

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