High efficiency CSSCdTe solar cells

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) has long been recognized as a strong candidate for thin film solar cell applications. It has a bandgap of 1.45 eV, which is nearly ideal for photovoltaic energy conversion. Due to its high optical absorption coefficient essentially all incident radiation with energy above its band-gap is absorbed within 1-2 mu m from the surface. Thin him CdTe solar cells are typically heterojunctions, with cadmium sulfide (CdS) being the n-type junction partner. Small area efficiencies have reached the 16.0% level and considerable efforts are underway to commercialize this technology. This paper will present work carried out at the University South Florida sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy, on CdTe/CdS solar cells fabricated using the close spaced sublimation (CSS) process. The CSS technology has attractive features for large area applications such as high deposition rates and efficient material utilization. The structural and optical properties of CSS CdTe and CdS films and junctions will be presented and the influence of some important CSS process parameters will be discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.