Smith, Westcott P., authorKirkpatrick, Allan T., advisorJames, Susan, advisorPuttlitz, Christian, committee memberSampath, W. S., committee memberWu, Mingzhong, committee member2007-01-032007-01-032013http://hdl.handle.net/10217/78869In recent decades, there has been concern regarding the sustainability of fossil fuels. One of the more promising alternatives is Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin–film photovoltaic (PV) devices. Improved quality measurement techniques may aid in improving this existing technology. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) is a common, non-destructive technique for measuring thin films in the silicon wafer industry. SE results have also been tied to properties believed to play a role in CdTe PV device efficiency. A study assessing the potential of SE for use as a quality measurement tool had not been previously reported. Samples of CdTe devices produced by both laboratory and industrial scale processes were measured by SE and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mathematical models of the optical characteristics of the devices were developed and fit to SE data from multiple angles and locations on each sample. Basic statistical analysis was performed on results from the automated fits to provide an initial evaluation of SE as a quantitative quality measurement process. In all cases studied, automated SE models produced average stack thickness values within 10% of the values produced by SEM, and standard deviations for the top bulk layer thickness were less than 1% of the average values.born digitaldoctoral dissertationsengCopyright 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.cadmiumellipsometryqualityspectroscopictelluridetelluriumText