Quantum dot-induced improved performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells without a Cu buffer layer

Jiajie Li; Yumin Zhang; Tangling Gao; Chang Hu; Tai Yao; Quan Yuan; Xianjie Wang; Ping Xu; Zhihua Zhang; Jikang Jian; Xinghong Zhang; Bo Song

doi:10.1039/C6TA10441J

Quantum dot-induced improved performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells without a Cu buffer layer†

Jiajie Li,^a Yumin Zhang,^a Tangling Gao,^b Chang Hu,^c Tai Yao,^d Quan Yuan,^a Xianjie Wang,^c Ping Xu,

*^e Zhihua Zhang,^f Jikang Jian,^g Xinghong Zhang*^a and Bo Song*^cd

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Centre for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
E-mail: zhangxh@hit.edu.cn

^b Institute of Petrochemistry, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040, China

^c Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

^d Academy of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
E-mail: songbo@hit.edu.cn

^e School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
E-mail: pxu@hit.edu.cn

^f Liaoning Key Materials Laboratory for Railway, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian 116028, China

^g School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China

Abstract

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar cells show great potential due to their high efficiency, thermal stability, and low manufacturing cost. However, the practical performance of CdTe solar cells is often severely restricted due to the deficiency or excess of Cu diffusion, leading to a non-ohmic contact and electrical shorts and thus performance degradation. Herein, we demonstrate an innovative strategy for the fabrication of a Cu-free back contact by depositing CdTe quantum dots (QDs) on a CdTe layer using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique, and find that the average relative power conversion efficiency is significantly enhanced by ∼6.2%. More importantly, the as-prepared CdTe QDs are thermally stable and CdTe with CdTe QD/Au back contact devices show no sign of degradation during exposure to air even after nearly one year. This study provides new insight into the design and property modulation of CdTe-based photovoltaics.

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Quantum dot-induced improved performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells without a Cu buffer layer†

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Quantum dot-induced improved performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells without a Cu buffer layer

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