Title :
Photovoltaics of ordered CdTe/CdS nanoarrays
Author :
Zubia, David ; Romo, Luis ; Cruz-Campa, Jose ; Aguirre, Brandon ; McClure, John
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
Abstract :
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a good absorber layer for solar cells with a predicted efficiency of 29% however the highest reported efficiency is only <17% due to various loss mechanisms. One particular loss is attributed to non-uniformity in grain shape and size by Karpov. Simulation of Karpov´s model yields counter-intuitive insight that highlights how empirical data can lead researchers to wrong conclusions. A method to grow ordered arrays of ZnTe/CdTe heterostructures is presented. The method has potential for probing the electronic characteristics of individual photodiodes at the granular level.
Keywords :
II-VI semiconductors; cadmium compounds; granular materials; nanofabrication; nanostructured materials; photodiodes; semiconductor growth; semiconductor heterojunctions; solar cells; vapour deposition; wide band gap semiconductors; zinc compounds; CdTe-CdS; CdTe-CdS-ITO-SiO2; SiO2; ZnTe-CdTe-CdS; absorber layer; electronic characteristics; grain shape; grain size; granular level; heterostructures; ordered nanoarrays; photodiodes; photovoltaics; solar cells; Cadmium compounds; Circuit simulation; Diodes; Electric variables; Inorganic materials; Photodiodes; Photonic band gap; Photovoltaic cells; Shape; Zinc compounds;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2009 34th IEEE
Conference_Location :
Philadelphia, PA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2949-3
Electronic_ISBN :
0160-8371
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2009.5411523
