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A novel industrial thin film deposition technology for sustainable CdTe photovoltaics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2012

P. Nozar ,
G. Mittica ,
S. Milita ,
C. Albonetti ,
F. Corticelli ,
A. Brillante ,
I. Bilotti ,
G. Tedeschi  and
C. Taliani
P. Nozar*
Affiliation:
ISMN-CNR, via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy,
G. Mittica
Affiliation:
Siena Solar Nanotech, S.p.A., Piazza dell’Abbadia, 4, 53100 Siena, Italy,
S. Milita
Affiliation:
IMM-CNR, via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy,
C. Albonetti
Affiliation:
ISMN-CNR, via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy,
F. Corticelli
Affiliation:
IMM-CNR, via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy,
A. Brillante
Affiliation:
Dip. di Chim. Fis. e Inorg., Univ. di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
I. Bilotti
Affiliation:
Dip. di Chim. Fis. e Inorg., Univ. di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
G. Tedeschi
Affiliation:
Siena Solar Nanotech, S.p.A., Piazza dell’Abbadia, 4, 53100 Siena, Italy,
C. Taliani
Affiliation:
Siena Solar Nanotech, S.p.A., Piazza dell’Abbadia, 4, 53100 Siena, Italy, Organic Spintronics, S.r.l., via Gobetti 52/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy, ISMN-CNR, via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy,
*
*Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

CdTe and CdS are emerging as the most promising materials for thin film photovoltaics in the quest of the achievement of grid parity. The major challenge for the advancement of grid parity is the achievement of high quality at the same time as low fabrication cost. The present paper reports the results of the new deposition technique, Pulsed Plasma Deposition (PPD), for the growth of the CdTe layers on CdS/ZnO/quartz and quartz substrates. The PPD method allows to deposit at low temperature. The optical band gap of deposited layers is 1.50 eV, in perfect accord with the value reported in the literature for the crystalline cubic phase of the CdTe.

The films are highly crystalline with a predominant cubic phase, a random orientation of the grains of the film and have an extremely low surface roughness of 4.6±0.7 nm r.m.s.. The low roughness, compared to traditional thermal deposition methods (close space sublimation and vapour transport) permits the reduction of the active absorber and n-type semiconductor layers resulting in a dramatic reduction of material usage and the relative deposition issues like safety, deposition rate and ultimately cost

Keywords

II-VIphotovoltaicthin film
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1447: Symposium V/W – Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Solar-Cell Manufacturing , 2012 , mrss12-1447-v02-01
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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References

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