Doping of polycrystalline CdTe for high-efficiency solar cells on flexible metal foil

Lukas Kranz (), Christina Gretener, Julian Perrenoud, Rafael Schmitt, Fabian Pianezzi, Fabio La Mattina, Patrick Blösch, Erik Cheah, Adrian Chirilă, Carolin M. Fella, Harald Hagendorfer, Timo Jäger, Shiro Nishiwaki, Alexander R. Uhl, Stephan Buecheler and Ayodhya N. Tiwari
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Lukas Kranz: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Christina Gretener: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Julian Perrenoud: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Rafael Schmitt: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Fabian Pianezzi: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Fabio La Mattina: Laboratory for Electronics/Metrology/Reliability, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Patrick Blösch: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Erik Cheah: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Adrian Chirilă: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Carolin M. Fella: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Harald Hagendorfer: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Timo Jäger: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Shiro Nishiwaki: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Alexander R. Uhl: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Stephan Buecheler: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
Ayodhya N. Tiwari: Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Roll-to-roll manufacturing of CdTe solar cells on flexible metal foil substrates is one of the most attractive options for low-cost photovoltaic module production. However, various efforts to grow CdTe solar cells on metal foil have resulted in low efficiencies. This is caused by the fact that the conventional device structure must be inverted, which imposes severe restrictions on device processing and consequently limits the electronic quality of the CdTe layer. Here we introduce an innovative concept for the controlled doping of the CdTe layer in the inverted device structure by means of evaporation of sub-monolayer amounts of Cu and subsequent annealing, which enables breakthrough efficiencies up to 13.6%. For the first time, CdTe solar cells on metal foil exceed the 10% efficiency threshold for industrialization. The controlled doping of CdTe with Cu leads to increased hole density, enhanced carrier lifetime and improved carrier collection in the solar cell. Our results offer new research directions for solving persistent challenges of CdTe photovoltaics.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3306

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