Graded-Bandgap Solar Cells Using All-Electrodeposited ZnS, CdS and CdTe Thin-Films

Obi K. Echendu and Imyhamy M. Dharmadasa
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Obi K. Echendu: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK
Imyhamy M. Dharmadasa: Electronic Materials and Sensors Group, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB, UK

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 5, 1-20

Abstract: A 3-layer graded-bandgap solar cell with glass/FTO/ZnS/CdS/CdTe/Au structure has been fabricated using all-electrodeposited ZnS, CdS and CdTe thin layers. The three semiconductor layers were electrodeposited using a two-electrode system for process simplification. The incorporation of a wide bandgap amorphous ZnS as a buffer/window layer to form glass/FTO/ZnS/CdS/CdTe/Au solar cell resulted in the formation of this 3-layer graded-bandgap device structure. This has yielded corresponding improvement in all the solar cell parameters resulting in a conversion efficiency >10% under AM1.5 illumination conditions at room temperature, compared to the 8.0% efficiency of a 2-layer glass/FTO/CdS/CdTe/Au reference solar cell structure. These results demonstrate the advantages of the multi-layer graded-bandgap device architecture over the conventional 2-layer structure. In addition, they demonstrate the effective application of the two-electrode system as a simplification to the conventional three-electrode system in the electrodeposition of semiconductors with the elimination of the reference electrode as a possible impurity source.

Keywords: graded bandgap; electrodeposition; CdTe; ZnS; CdS; solar cell (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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