DISSERTATION IMPACT OF BACK–CONTACT MATERIALS ON PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY OF CdS/CdTe SOLAR CELLS

OF DISSERTATION Impact of Back-contact Materials on Performance and Stability of CdS/CdTe Solar Cells Thin-film CdTe based solar cells are one of the leading contenders for providing lowcost and pollution-free energy. The formation of a stable, low resistance, non-rectifying contact to p-CdTe thin-film is one of the major and critical challenges associated with this technology in the fabrication of efficient and stable solar cells. The premise of this thesis is a systematic study of the impact of back-contact materials on the initial performance and the degradation of CdS/CdTe solar cells. Two different back-contact structures that incorporate Cu as a key element are investigated in this study: (a) Cu1.4Te:HgTe-doped graphite and (b) evaporated-Cu back contacts. The effect of Cu inclusion is not limited to the back–contact layer where it is deposited. Cu is a known fast diffuser in p-CdTe, and therefore, a significant amount of Cu reaches both the CdTe and CdS layers. Hence, the effect of the presence of Cu on the individual layers: back-contact, the absorber (CdTe), and the window (CdS) layers is discussed respectively. The effect of different metals used to form the current-carrying electrode following the Cu layer is also evaluated. Devices are studied through current-voltage (JV) measurements at different temperatures and intensities, quantum efficiency (QE) measurements under light and voltage bias, capacitance-voltage (CV), drive-level-capacitance-profiling (DLCP), and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements. Numerical simulation is also used to reproduce and explain some of the experimental results. In devices made without Cu, a current-limiting effect, rollover (distortion) in the