Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition
An in situ thermal annealing process (iTAP) has been introduced before the common ex situ cadmium chloride (CdCl2) annealing to improve crystal quality and morphology of the CdTe thin films after pulsed laser deposition of CdS/CdTe heterostructures. A strong correlation between the two annealing pro...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2016-01-01
|
Series: | Advances in Condensed Matter Physics |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8068396 |
id |
doaj-2ccf4c70b2c14a3c9ea5163467cbe084 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-2ccf4c70b2c14a3c9ea5163467cbe0842020-11-24T23:44:28ZengHindawi LimitedAdvances in Condensed Matter Physics1687-81081687-81242016-01-01201610.1155/2016/80683968068396Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser DepositionAlaa Ayad Al-mebir0Paul Harrison1Ali Kadhim2Guanggen Zeng3Judy Wu4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USAAn in situ thermal annealing process (iTAP) has been introduced before the common ex situ cadmium chloride (CdCl2) annealing to improve crystal quality and morphology of the CdTe thin films after pulsed laser deposition of CdS/CdTe heterostructures. A strong correlation between the two annealing processes was observed, leading to a profound effect on the performance of CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show that the iTAP in the optimal processing window produces considerable CdTe grain growth and improves the CdTe crystallinity, which results in significantly improved optoelectronic properties and quantum efficiency of the CdS/CdTe solar cells. A power conversion efficiency of up to 7.0% has been obtained on thin film CdS/CdTe solar cells of absorber thickness as small as 0.75 μm processed with the optimal iTAP at 450°C for 10–20 min. This result illustrates the importance of controlling microstructures of CdTe thin films and iTAP provides a viable approach to achieve such a control.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8068396 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alaa Ayad Al-mebir Paul Harrison Ali Kadhim Guanggen Zeng Judy Wu |
spellingShingle |
Alaa Ayad Al-mebir Paul Harrison Ali Kadhim Guanggen Zeng Judy Wu Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition Advances in Condensed Matter Physics |
author_facet |
Alaa Ayad Al-mebir Paul Harrison Ali Kadhim Guanggen Zeng Judy Wu |
author_sort |
Alaa Ayad Al-mebir |
title |
Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition |
title_short |
Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition |
title_full |
Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition |
title_fullStr |
Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effect of In Situ Thermal Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Electrical Properties of CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition |
title_sort |
effect of in situ thermal annealing on structural, optical, and electrical properties of cds/cdte thin film solar cells fabricated by pulsed laser deposition |
publisher |
Hindawi Limited |
series |
Advances in Condensed Matter Physics |
issn |
1687-8108 1687-8124 |
publishDate |
2016-01-01 |
description |
An in situ thermal annealing process (iTAP) has been introduced before the common ex situ cadmium chloride (CdCl2) annealing to improve crystal quality and morphology of the CdTe thin films after pulsed laser deposition of CdS/CdTe heterostructures. A strong correlation between the two annealing processes was observed, leading to a profound effect on the performance of CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show that the iTAP in the optimal processing window produces considerable CdTe grain growth and improves the CdTe crystallinity, which results in significantly improved optoelectronic properties and quantum efficiency of the CdS/CdTe solar cells. A power conversion efficiency of up to 7.0% has been obtained on thin film CdS/CdTe solar cells of absorber thickness as small as 0.75 μm processed with the optimal iTAP at 450°C for 10–20 min. This result illustrates the importance of controlling microstructures of CdTe thin films and iTAP provides a viable approach to achieve such a control. |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8068396 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT alaaayadalmebir effectofinsituthermalannealingonstructuralopticalandelectricalpropertiesofcdscdtethinfilmsolarcellsfabricatedbypulsedlaserdeposition AT paulharrison effectofinsituthermalannealingonstructuralopticalandelectricalpropertiesofcdscdtethinfilmsolarcellsfabricatedbypulsedlaserdeposition AT alikadhim effectofinsituthermalannealingonstructuralopticalandelectricalpropertiesofcdscdtethinfilmsolarcellsfabricatedbypulsedlaserdeposition AT guanggenzeng effectofinsituthermalannealingonstructuralopticalandelectricalpropertiesofcdscdtethinfilmsolarcellsfabricatedbypulsedlaserdeposition AT judywu effectofinsituthermalannealingonstructuralopticalandelectricalpropertiesofcdscdtethinfilmsolarcellsfabricatedbypulsedlaserdeposition |
_version_ |
1725498213929058304 |