| AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Thin Film | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session TF-TuA |
| Session: | Thin Film Photovoltaics |
| Presenter: | John Walls, Loughborough University, UK |
| Authors: | P.M. Kaminski, Loughborough University, UK A. Abbas, Loughborough University, UK S. Yilmaz, Loughborough University, UK J.M. Walls, Loughborough University, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The exceptional uniformity of deposition provides magnetron sputtering with important advantages as a deposition technique for some applications of thin film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells. Efforts to develop a viable sputtering process for CdTe have been conducted in many laboratories around the world. These efforts have been moderately successful but the conversion efficiency achieved has not matched that obtained using lower energy deposition techniques such as Close Space Sublimation or Vapour Transport Deposition. In particular, sputtered CdTe is less tolerant to the cadmium chloride activation process. Delamination of the films at the cadmium sulphide junction is often observed. Catastrophic void formation within the CdTe layer has also been reported. This behaviour has often been attributed to film stress even though this can be mitigated in the as-deposited films. Using state-of-the-art High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, we will report on the identification of the nanoscale defects that are responsible for the poor response of sputtered CdTe films to the cadmium chloride treatment. Identification of the atomic scale mechanisms at work provides a way to significant process improvement.