Back Contact Effects on the Electro-Optical Properties of CdTe/CdS Solar Cells

摘要

Studies of junction photoluminescence (PL) in CdTe/CdS solar cells reveal that back-contact application produces a dramatic qualitative change in the junction picosecond-PL spectrum. Prior to contact application, the spectrum has two peaks at energies of 1.501 eV and 1.457 eV, corresponding to recombination in regions of CdTeS alloy with 2percent and 12percent sulfur content, respectively. After contact application, the spectrum consists of a single broad peak at 1.48 eV. Previous studies have shown that the nitric-phosphoric (NP) etch used in the contact procedure produces a layer of elemental tellurium (Te) on the CdTe surface. We postulate that the change in the near-junction PL spectrum is caused by a grain-boundary field effect due to perturbations of the grain-boundary conductivity and Fermi level.