Alternative procedure for the fabrication of close-spaced sublimated CdTe solar cells

We deposited CdTe thin films by close-spaced sublimtation using an alternative procedure, with temperatures about 170 degrees C lower than the ones used in the standard procedure. These films were used in the fabrication of all thin-film CdTe/CdS solar cells. We treated the cells using the well-established CdCl2 dipping process as well as a new vapor treatment. The vapor process was more reproducible and easier to control, and it produced the best devices. This process was also much more effective in the recrystallization of the CdTe films. The best device that we produced had an efficiently of 11.6%, close to the 12.3% efficiency of the best device fabricated using the standard process. These results show that the new process has good potential, and besides being an alternative for lower-cost solar cell prouction, it can also produce high-efficiency devices. (C) 2000 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(00)12604-1].