Dissertation Device Characterization of Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaics

DEVICE CHARACTERIZATION OF CADMIUM TELLURIDE PHOTOVOLTAICS Thin-film photovoltaics have the potential to make a large impact on the world energy supply. They can provide clean, affordable energy for the world. Understanding the device physics and behavior will enable increases in efficiency which will increase their impact. This work presents novel approaches for evaluating efficiency, as well as a set of tools for in-depth whole-cell and uniformity characterization. The understanding of efficiency losses is essential for reducing or eliminating the losses. The efficiency can be characterized by a breakdown into three categories: solar spectrum, optical, and electronic efficiency. For several record devices, there is little difference in the solar spectrum efficiency, modest difference in the optical efficiency, and large difference in the electronic efficiency. The losses within each category can also be further characterized. The losses due to the broad solar spectrum and finite temperature are well understood from a thermodynamic physics perspective. Optical losses can be fully characterized using quantum efficiency and optical measurements. Losses in fill factor can be quantified from series and shunt resistance, as well as the expected fill factor from the measured Voc and A. Open-circuit voltage losses are the most significant, but are also be the hardest to understand, as well as the most technology-dependent. Characterization of the whole cell helps to understand the behavior, performance, and properties of the cell. Several different tools can be used for whole-cell characterization, including current-voltage, quantum efficiency, and capacitance measurements. Each of these tools give specific information about the behavior of the cell. When combined, they can lead to a more complete understanding of the cell performance than when taken individually. These tools were applied to several specific CdTe experiments. They have helped to characterize the baseline performance of both the deposition tool and the measurement