Grain-Boundary-Enhanced Carrier Collection in CdTe Solar Cells

Chen Li; Yelong Wu; Jonathan Poplawsky; Timothy J. Pennycook; Naba Paudel; Wanjian Yin; Sarah J. Haigh; Mark P. Oxley; Andrew R. Lupini; Mowafak Al-Jassim; Stephen J. Pennycook; Yanfa Yan

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.156103

Grain-Boundary-Enhanced Carrier Collection in CdTe Solar Cells

Chen Li, Yelong Wu, Jonathan Poplawsky, Timothy J. Pennycook, Naba Paudel, Wanjian Yin, Sarah J. Haigh, Mark P. Oxley, Andrew R. Lupini, Mowafak Al-Jassim, Stephen J. Pennycook, Yanfa Yan

Materials Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

269 Scopus Citations

Abstract

When CdTe solar cells are doped with Cl, the grain boundaries no longer act as recombination centers but actively contribute to carrier collection efficiency. The physical origin of this remarkable effect has been determined through a combination of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and first-principles theory. Cl substitutes for a large proportion of the Te atoms within a few unit cells of the grain boundaries. Density functional calculations reveal the mechanism, and further indicate the grain boundaries are inverted to n type, establishing local p-n junctions which assist electron-hole pair separation. The mechanism is electrostatic, and hence independent of the geometry of the boundary, thereby explaining the universally high collection efficiency of Cl-doped CdTe solar cells.

Original language	American English
Article number	Article No. 156103
Number of pages	5
Journal	Physical Review Letters
Volume	112
Issue number	15
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.156103 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.156103
State	Published - 16 Apr 2014

NREL Publication Number

NREL/JA-5200-62044

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Li, C., Wu, Y., Poplawsky, J., Pennycook, T. J., Paudel, N., Yin, W., Haigh, S. J., Oxley, M. P., Lupini, A. R., Al-Jassim, M., Pennycook, S. J., & Yan, Y. (2014). Grain-Boundary-Enhanced Carrier Collection in CdTe Solar Cells. Physical Review Letters, 112(15), Article Article No. 156103. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.156103, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.156103

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abstract = "When CdTe solar cells are doped with Cl, the grain boundaries no longer act as recombination centers but actively contribute to carrier collection efficiency. The physical origin of this remarkable effect has been determined through a combination of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and first-principles theory. Cl substitutes for a large proportion of the Te atoms within a few unit cells of the grain boundaries. Density functional calculations reveal the mechanism, and further indicate the grain boundaries are inverted to n type, establishing local p-n junctions which assist electron-hole pair separation. The mechanism is electrostatic, and hence independent of the geometry of the boundary, thereby explaining the universally high collection efficiency of Cl-doped CdTe solar cells.",

author = "Chen Li and Yelong Wu and Jonathan Poplawsky and Pennycook, {Timothy J.} and Naba Paudel and Wanjian Yin and Haigh, {Sarah J.} and Oxley, {Mark P.} and Lupini, {Andrew R.} and Mowafak Al-Jassim and Pennycook, {Stephen J.} and Yanfa Yan",

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AU - Li, Chen

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AU - Pennycook, Timothy J.

AU - Paudel, Naba

AU - Yin, Wanjian

AU - Haigh, Sarah J.

AU - Oxley, Mark P.

AU - Lupini, Andrew R.

AU - Al-Jassim, Mowafak

AU - Pennycook, Stephen J.

AU - Yan, Yanfa

PY - 2014/4/16

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AB - When CdTe solar cells are doped with Cl, the grain boundaries no longer act as recombination centers but actively contribute to carrier collection efficiency. The physical origin of this remarkable effect has been determined through a combination of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and first-principles theory. Cl substitutes for a large proportion of the Te atoms within a few unit cells of the grain boundaries. Density functional calculations reveal the mechanism, and further indicate the grain boundaries are inverted to n type, establishing local p-n junctions which assist electron-hole pair separation. The mechanism is electrostatic, and hence independent of the geometry of the boundary, thereby explaining the universally high collection efficiency of Cl-doped CdTe solar cells.

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Grain-Boundary-Enhanced Carrier Collection in CdTe Solar Cells

Abstract

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