Role of CdTe Interface Structure on CdS/CdTe Photovoltaic Device Performance

Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) of CdTe can produce a cubic, hexagonal, or mixed phase crystal structure depending upon the oblique deposition angles (phi) and substrate temperature. GLAD CdTe films are prepared at different phi at room temperature (RT) and a high temperature (HT) of 250 degrees C and used as interlayers between the n-type hexagonal CdS window layer and the p-type cubic CdTe absorber layer to investigate the role of interfacial tailoring at the CdS/CdTe heterojunction in photovoltaic (PV) device performance. The phi = 80 degrees RT GLAD CdTe interlayer and CdS both have the hexagonal structure, which reduces lattice mismatch at the CdS/CdTe interface and improves electronic quality at the heterojunction for device performance optimization. The device performance of HT CdS/CdTe solar cells with phi = 80 degrees RT with 50 to 350 nm thick GLAD CdTe interlayers is evaluated in which a 250 nm interlayer device shows the best device performance with a 0.53 V increase in open-circuit voltage and fill-factor product and a 0.73% increase in absolute efficiency compared to the HT baseline PV device without an interlayer.