Minority Carrier Lifetime Analysis in the Bulk of Thin-Film Absorbers Using Subbandgap (Two-Photon) Excitation

Darius Kuciauskas, Ana Kanevce, James M. Burst, Joel N. Duenow, Ramesh Dhere, David S. Albin, Dean H. Levi, Richard K. Ahrenkiel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

93 Scopus Citations

Abstract

We describe a new time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) analysis method for the determination of minority carrier lifetime τB. This analysis is based on subbandgap excitation (two-photon excitation, or 2PE) and allows selective lifetime determination at the surface or in the bulk of semiconductor absorbers. We show that for single-crystal CdTe, τB could be determined even if surface recombination velocity is >10 5 cm s-1. Two-photon excitation TRPL measurements indicate that radiative lifetime in undoped CdTe is >>66 ns. We also compare one-photon excitation (1PE) and 2PE TRPL data for polycrystalline CdS/CdTe thin films.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number6553424
Pages (from-to)1319-1324
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Volume3
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5200-57837

Keywords

  • Cadmium telluride
  • minority carrier lifetime
  • photovoltaic (PV) device
  • time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL)

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