AI Article Synopsis
- Thin film materials for photovoltaics, like CdTe and CIGS, promise lower costs and better performance compared to microcrystalline silicon, but managing electron and hole concentrations in these materials has been a long-standing challenge.
- Ionic bonding in these films leads to difficult-to-control defect chemistries, complicating the enhancement of charge carrier concentrations.
- Research shows that doping and annealing processes can significantly increase hole density in CdTe films, potentially boosting solar cell efficiency to 25% and paving the way for cheaper solar energy compared to traditional sources.
Article Abstract
Thin film materials for photovoltaics such as cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper-indium diselenide-based chalcopyrites (CIGS), and lead iodide-based perovskites offer the potential of lower solar module capital costs and improved performance to microcrystalline silicon. However, for decades understanding and controlling hole and electron concentration in these polycrystalline films has been extremely challenging and limiting. Ionic bonding between constituent atoms often leads to tenacious intrinsic compensating defect chemistries that are difficult to control. Device modeling indicates that increasing CdTe hole density while retaining carrier lifetimes of several nanoseconds can increase solar cell efficiency to 25%. This paper describes in-situ Sb, As, and P doping and post-growth annealing that increases hole density from historic 10 limits to 10-10 cm levels without compromising lifetime in thin polycrystalline CdTe films, which opens paths to advance solar performance and achieve costs below conventional electricity sources.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162206 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32746-y | DOI Listing |
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