Outage alert: Mountain Scholar will be unavailable overnight Thursday 9/26/2024 starting at 9pm.
Repository logo
 

Measurement of cadmium telluride bilayer solar cells

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorChime, Chinecherem Agnes, author
dc.contributor.authorSites, James, advisor
dc.contributor.authorBuchanan, Kristen, committee member
dc.contributor.authorSampath, Walajabad, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-09T20:51:05Z
dc.date.available2024-09-09T20:51:05Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractPhotovoltaic (PV) technology is a green technology that uses devices and semiconducting materials to generate power by converting the absorbed energy from solar to electrical energy. Understanding the performance and behavior of a fabricated device is essential for enhancing their efficiency for future commercialization. Cadmium-telluride (CdTe) technology is a PV technology that uses CdTe as the semiconductor layer for absorbing and converting sunlight into electricity. Incorporating a bilayer of cadmium selenium telluride (CdSexTe1-x) alloy and CdTe into solar cell devices have shown particularly good performance, enhanced passivation, and higher efficiency. In this research, cadmium telluride solar cells were fabricated with a focus on improving the performance of the absorber layers. Radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering and close-space sublimation were adopted in preparing the front and back contact layers respectively. The fabricated device comprises of Tec-10 glass/100-nm magnesium-doped zinc oxide (MZO)/0.5-μm CST40/2.5-µm CdTe/ cadmium-chloride passivation/ Cu-doping/ 40-nm Te/ carbon and nickel paint back contact. As part of the performance improvement measures, the bilayer surface was passivated with cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and doped afterwards with copper. The fabricated CdSexTe1-x/CdTe device was subjected to room temperature and low temperature current density-voltage (J-V), capacitance, phase angle, quantum efficiency (QE), reflectance, electroluminescence (EL), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The J-V characteristics gave 15% device efficiency and showed diode curves which rolled over at lower temperatures, but were more ideal at higher temperatures. Capacitance measurements gave a hole density of 4x1014 cm-3 and a phase angle of 88o. The cells recorded high quantum efficiency of about 85% which is indicative of reduced recombination rate. Few defects were observed from the EL images while the PL emission peaks were obtained at 875 nm corresponding to an approximate energy band gap value of 1.42 eV. The measurement results show good performance for use in commercial solar cells for energy sustainability. Future implications encompass module fabrication, flexible devices, and affordability for enhancing green energy production and minimizing environmental pollution. Prospects envisage fabricating CdTe devices with higher efficiencies which would continue to compete successfully with other solar cell technologies.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierCHIME_colostate_0053N_18391.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/239113
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2020-
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjectCdTe
dc.subjectefficiency
dc.subjectsolar cell
dc.subjectCST
dc.subjectband gap
dc.subjectrollover effect
dc.titleMeasurement of cadmium telluride bilayer solar cells
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplinePhysics
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
CHIME_colostate_0053N_18391.pdf
Size:
3.63 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

2020-
Theses and Dissertations