TY - JOUR
T1 - CdS annealing treatments in various atmospheres and effects on performances of CdTe/CdS solar cells
AU - Jun-Feng, Han
AU - Gan-Hua, Fu
AU - Krishnakumar, V.
AU - Cheng, Liao
AU - Jaegermann, Wolfram
PY - 2013/8
Y1 - 2013/8
N2 - In this work, a systematic research on CdS annealing treatments under various atmospheres had been done to understand their effects on CdS/CdTe solar cells. CdS films were prepared by a standard CBD method and annealed under various atmospheres, including Ar, Ar+H2, O2, Ar+S and Ar+CdCl2. Morphological, structural, optical and chemical properties were investigated using Atom force microscope (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-VIS spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Annealing treatments enhanced modifications of morphology, structure and electrical properties of CdS films. AFM showed different surface morphologies and roughnesses of CdS films annealed under various atmospheres. XRD indicated the transition of CdS films from metastable cubic structure to stable hexagonal structure after annealing treatment, especially annealed in Ar+CdCl2. From XPS analysis, Fermi levels of CdS films shifted closer to conduction band after annealing under O2 and Ar+CdCl2, while the levels shifted away from conduction band under Ar+H2 and Ar+S. The relationships between those modifications by annealing treatments and effects on the performance of solar cells were discussed. Solar cell based on CdS annealed with Ar+CdCl2 had the best performance due to the high n-doping of CdS layer introduced by annealing process.
AB - In this work, a systematic research on CdS annealing treatments under various atmospheres had been done to understand their effects on CdS/CdTe solar cells. CdS films were prepared by a standard CBD method and annealed under various atmospheres, including Ar, Ar+H2, O2, Ar+S and Ar+CdCl2. Morphological, structural, optical and chemical properties were investigated using Atom force microscope (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-VIS spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Annealing treatments enhanced modifications of morphology, structure and electrical properties of CdS films. AFM showed different surface morphologies and roughnesses of CdS films annealed under various atmospheres. XRD indicated the transition of CdS films from metastable cubic structure to stable hexagonal structure after annealing treatment, especially annealed in Ar+CdCl2. From XPS analysis, Fermi levels of CdS films shifted closer to conduction band after annealing under O2 and Ar+CdCl2, while the levels shifted away from conduction band under Ar+H2 and Ar+S. The relationships between those modifications by annealing treatments and effects on the performance of solar cells were discussed. Solar cell based on CdS annealed with Ar+CdCl2 had the best performance due to the high n-doping of CdS layer introduced by annealing process.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881475788&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10854-013-1157-7
DO - 10.1007/s10854-013-1157-7
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84881475788
SN - 0957-4522
VL - 24
SP - 2695
EP - 2700
JO - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
JF - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
IS - 8
ER -