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Electronic Properties of Chemically Etched CdTe Thin Films: Role of Te for Back-Contact Formation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

D. Kraft ,
A. Thiβen ,
M. Campo ,
M. Beerbom ,
T. Mayer ,
A. Klein  and
W. Jaegermann
D. Kraft
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstr. 23, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
A. Thiβen
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstr. 23, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
M. Campo
Affiliation:
ANTEC Technology GmbH, Arnstädter Str. 22, D-99334 Rudisleben, Germany
M. Beerbom
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstr. 23, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
T. Mayer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstr. 23, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
A. Klein
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstr. 23, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
W. Jaegermann
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science, Darmstadt University of Technology, Petersenstr. 23, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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Abstract

Improvement of electric back contact formation is one of the major issues of the CdTe thin film solar cell research. Chemical etching of CdTe before metallization is accepted to improve contact formation. It is believed that a CdTe/Te contact is formed by this procedure leading to a Fermi level position in the CdTe close to the valence band maximum for low contact resistance. We have studied the electronic properties of chemically etched CdTe surfaces with photoelectron spectroscopy. Etching of the samples was performed in air (“ex-situ“) as well as in an electrochemical setup directly attached to the UHV system (“in-situ“). The formation of a Te layer is clearly shown by (S)XPS. In contrast to previous studies we could not detect the formation of a p-CdTe surface for different experimental conditions. The detected Fermi level position indicates still band bending and hence a blocking Schottky barrier.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 668: Symposium H – II-IV Compound Semiconductor Photovoltaic Materials , 2001 , H7.5
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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