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Cu Migration and its Impact on the Metastable Behavior of CdTe Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2015

Da Guo
Affiliation:
School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Richard Akis
Affiliation:
School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Daniel Brinkman
Affiliation:
School of Mathematical and Statistical Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Andrew Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Tian Fang
Affiliation:
First Solar Inc, Perrysburg, Ohio 43551, USA
Igor Sankin
Affiliation:
First Solar Inc, Perrysburg, Ohio 43551, USA
Christian Ringhofer
Affiliation:
School of Mathematical and Statistical Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
Dragica Vasileska
Affiliation:
School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
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Abstract

In this work, we report on development of one-dimensional reaction-diffusion simulator needed to understand the kinetics of Cu-related metastabilities observed in CdTe PV devices. Evolution of intrinsic and Cu-related defects in CdTe solar cells has been studied in time-space domain self-consistently with free carrier transport. Resulting device performance was simulated as a function of stress time, thus showing pronounced effect that the evolution of associated acceptor and donor states can cause on device characteristics. Although 1D simulation has intrinsic limitations when applied to poly-crystalline films, the results presented confirm the validity and the potential of the approach presented in better understanding of the performance and metastabilities of CdTe photovoltaic devices.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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