Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis

Even though substantial advances made in the device configuration of the frontal layers of the superstrate cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell device have contributed to conversion efficiency, unresolved challenges remain in regard to controlling the self-compensation and minority carrier recombinat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harif M.N., Doroody C., Nadzri A., Nisham Rosly H., Ahmad N.I., Isah M., Amin N.
Other Authors: 22634024000
Format: Article
Published: MDPI 2024
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
id my.uniten.dspace-34203
record_format dspace
spelling my.uniten.dspace-342032024-10-14T11:18:25Z Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis Harif M.N. Doroody C. Nadzri A. Nisham Rosly H. Ahmad N.I. Isah M. Amin N. 22634024000 56905467200 56592995800 36873451800 57200991933 57219626175 7102424614 cadmium telluride doping concentration energy SCAPS solar photovoltaic cells thin film Even though substantial advances made in the device configuration of the frontal layers of the superstrate cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell device have contributed to conversion efficiency, unresolved challenges remain in regard to controlling the self-compensation and minority carrier recombination at the back contact that limits the efficiency. In this study, a SCAPS-1D simulator was used to analyze the loss mechanism and performance limitations due to the band-bending effect upon copper chloride treatment and subsequent Cu2Te layer formation as the back contact buffer layer. The optimal energy bandgap range for the proposed back surface layer of Cu2Te is derived to be in the range of 1.1 eV to 1.3 eV for the maximum conversion efficiency, i.e., around 21.3%. Moreover, the impacts of absorber layer�s carrier concentration with respect to CdTe film thickness, bandgap, and operational temperature are analyzed. The optimized design reveals that the acceptor concentration contributes significantly to the performance of the CdTe devices, including spectral response. Consequently, the optimized thickness of the CdTe absorber layer with a Cu-based back contact is found to be 2.5 �m. Moreover, the effect of temperature ranging from 30 �C to 100 �C as the operating condition of the CdTe thin-film solar cells is addressed, which demonstrates an increasing recombination tread once the device temperature exceeds 60 �C, thus affecting the stability of the solar cells. � 2023 by the authors. Final 2024-10-14T03:18:25Z 2024-10-14T03:18:25Z 2023 Article 10.3390/cryst13050848 2-s2.0-85160447006 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85160447006&doi=10.3390%2fcryst13050848&partnerID=40&md5=33e1198a14041111556d1ce75e45754b https://irepository.uniten.edu.my/handle/123456789/34203 13 5 848 All Open Access Gold Open Access MDPI Scopus
institution Universiti Tenaga Nasional
building UNITEN Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Tenaga Nasional
content_source UNITEN Institutional Repository
url_provider http://dspace.uniten.edu.my/
topic cadmium telluride
doping concentration
energy
SCAPS
solar photovoltaic cells
thin film
spellingShingle cadmium telluride
doping concentration
energy
SCAPS
solar photovoltaic cells
thin film
Harif M.N.
Doroody C.
Nadzri A.
Nisham Rosly H.
Ahmad N.I.
Isah M.
Amin N.
Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis
description Even though substantial advances made in the device configuration of the frontal layers of the superstrate cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cell device have contributed to conversion efficiency, unresolved challenges remain in regard to controlling the self-compensation and minority carrier recombination at the back contact that limits the efficiency. In this study, a SCAPS-1D simulator was used to analyze the loss mechanism and performance limitations due to the band-bending effect upon copper chloride treatment and subsequent Cu2Te layer formation as the back contact buffer layer. The optimal energy bandgap range for the proposed back surface layer of Cu2Te is derived to be in the range of 1.1 eV to 1.3 eV for the maximum conversion efficiency, i.e., around 21.3%. Moreover, the impacts of absorber layer�s carrier concentration with respect to CdTe film thickness, bandgap, and operational temperature are analyzed. The optimized design reveals that the acceptor concentration contributes significantly to the performance of the CdTe devices, including spectral response. Consequently, the optimized thickness of the CdTe absorber layer with a Cu-based back contact is found to be 2.5 �m. Moreover, the effect of temperature ranging from 30 �C to 100 �C as the operating condition of the CdTe thin-film solar cells is addressed, which demonstrates an increasing recombination tread once the device temperature exceeds 60 �C, thus affecting the stability of the solar cells. � 2023 by the authors.
author2 22634024000
author_facet 22634024000
Harif M.N.
Doroody C.
Nadzri A.
Nisham Rosly H.
Ahmad N.I.
Isah M.
Amin N.
format Article
author Harif M.N.
Doroody C.
Nadzri A.
Nisham Rosly H.
Ahmad N.I.
Isah M.
Amin N.
author_sort Harif M.N.
title Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis
title_short Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis
title_full Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis
title_fullStr Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Cu2Te Back Surface Interfacial Layer on Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Cell Performance from Numerical Analysis
title_sort effect of cu2te back surface interfacial layer on cadmium telluride thin film solar cell performance from numerical analysis
publisher MDPI
publishDate 2024
_version_ 1814061045671526400
score 13.222552