Particulate Contacts to Si and CdTe:Al, Ag, Hg-Cu-Te, and Sb-Te

Our team has been investigating the use of particle-based contacts in both Si and CdTe solar cell technologies. First, in the area of contacts to Si, powders of Al and Ag prepared by an electroexplosion process have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), TEM elemental determination X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDS), and TEM electron diffraction (TEM-ED). These Al and Ag particles were slurried and tested as contacts to pand n-type silicon wafers, respectively. Linear current-voltage (I-V) was observed for Ag on n-type Si, indicative of an ohmic contact, whereas the Al on p-type Si sample was non-ideal. A wet-chemical surface treatment was performed on one Al sample and TEM-EDS indicated a substantial decrease in the O contaminant level. The treated Al on p-type Si films exhibited linear I-V after annealing. Second, in the area of contacts to CdTe, particles of Hg-Cu-Te and Sb-Te have been applied as contacts to CdTe/CdS/SnO2 heterostructures prepared by the standard NREL protocol. First, Hg-Cu-Te and Sb-Te were prepared by a metathesis reaction. After CdCl2 treatment and NP etch of the CdTe layer, particle contacts were applied. The Hg-Cu-Te contacted cells exhibited good electrical characteristics, with Voc > 810 mV and efficiencies > 11.5 % for most cells. Although Voc > 800 mV were observed for the Sb-Te contacted cells, efficiencies in these devices were limited to 9.1%, presumably by a large series resistance (>20 Ω) observed in all samples.