Development of ZnTe Contacts for Cd1-xMgxTe Thin Film Solar Cells for Tandem Applications

Joel N. Duenow, Ramesh G. Dhere, Jian Li, Wyatt K. Metzger, Anna Duda, Timothy A. Gessert

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

4 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Polycrystalline Cd1-xMgxTe (CMT) thin films are a potential absorber material for two-junction thin-film tandem solar cell applications because the desired top cell bandgap range of 1.6 to 1.8 eV is readily obtained using CMT with only small resultant changes in the lattice constant from that of CdTe. Tandem devices require the top cell to have a transparent back contact to transmit the sub-bandgap spectrum to the bottom cell. Sputtered Cu-doped ZnTe (ZnTe:Cu) thin films, which offer potential as a transparent back contact interface layer, have been used successfully in CdTe devices. We apply ZnTe:Cu back contacts to CMT devices to continue development toward a transparent top cell. We describe the effects of depositing ZnTe:Cu at different temperatures and with different Cu contents on the net acceptor concentration, minority carrier lifetime, and device performance. We present here the highest reported CMT device efficiency of 9.6% at a bandgap of 1.57 eV.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages405-410
Number of pages6
StatePublished - 2010
Event2009 MRS Spring Meeting - San Francisco, CA, United States
Duration: 13 Apr 200917 Apr 2009

Conference

Conference2009 MRS Spring Meeting
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Francisco, CA
Period13/04/0917/04/09

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-520-44397

Keywords

  • tandem solar cells
  • thin films

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Development of ZnTe Contacts for Cd1-xMgxTe Thin Film Solar Cells for Tandem Applications'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this