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 2% and 12% 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.