MOCVD of Cd(1−x)Zn(x)S/CdTe PV cells using an ultra-thin absorber layer

Ultra-thin Cd(₁ ₋ ₓ)Zn(ₓ)S/CdTe devices were produced by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapour deposition (AP-MOCVD) with varying CdTe absorber thicknesses ranging from 1.0 to 0.2 mm and compared to baseline cells with total CdTe thickness of 2.25μ. The ultra-thin CdTe layers (≤1 μm) were intentionally doped with As to induce p-type conductivity in the absorber. Cell performance reduced with CdTe thickness, with the magnitude of photo-current generation loss becoming more significant for the very thin CdTe layers. The decline in cell performance was lower than the optically limited performance relating to a decrease in shunt resistance, Rsh, especially for the thinnest cells due to areas of incomplete CdTe coverage and large presence of pin-holes leading to micro-shorts. Incorporation of Zn into the CdS window layer improved cell performance for all devices except when 0.2 μm thick CdTe was used. This improvement was markedly in the blue region owing to enhanced optical transparency of the window layer. External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements showed a red-shift of the window layer absorption edge due to leaching out of Zn during the CdCl₂ treatment. Reduction of the CdCl₂ deposition time was demonstrated to recover the blue response of the ultra-thin cells.