Processing and Modeling Issues for Thin-Film Solar Cell Devices: Annual Subcontract Report, 16 January 1995 - 15 January 1996

During the third phase of the subcontract, Institute of Energy Conversion researchers continued to provide the thin-film photovoltaic (PV) community with greater depth of understanding and insight into a wide variety of issues including the deposition and characterization of CuIn1-xGaxSe2, a-Si, CdTe, CdS, and TCO thin films; the relationships between film and device properties; and theprocessing and analysis of thin-film PV devices. This has been achieved through the systematic investigation of all aspects of film and device production and through the analysis and quantification of the reaction chemistries involved in thin-film deposition. This methodology has led to controlled fabrications of 15%-efficient CuIn1-xGaxSe2 solar cells over a wide range of Ga compositions,improved process control of the fabrication of a-Si solar cells, and reliable and generally applicable procedures for both contacting and doping CdTe films.