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Role of oxygen during CdTe growth for CdTe photovoltaic devices
Author(s) -
Korevaar Bas A.,
Cournoyer James R.,
Sulima Oleg,
Yakimov Aharon,
Johnson James N.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.2547
Subject(s) - cadmium telluride photovoltaics , sublimation (psychology) , oxygen , materials science , optoelectronics , crystallite , solar cell , open circuit voltage , thin film , chemistry , voltage , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , psychology , organic chemistry , metallurgy , psychotherapist , engineering
Polycrystalline CdTe thin films for CdTe solar cell devices are typically grown using physical vapor techniques such as close‐spaced sublimation or vapor transport deposition with, in some cases, a small amount of oxygen in the process gas. In this report, we discuss the results of growing CdTe films in an environment of pure oxygen using close‐space sublimation. The results show that oxygen has a positive impact on CdTe film quality as it increases charge carrier mobility and lifetime in the absorber layer of CdTe‐based devices. This has resulted in a 10–20 mV improvement in open‐circuit voltages when growing the CdTe in pure oxygen. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.