Micrononuniformity effects in thin-film photovoltaics

Author

Karpov, V.G. ; Compaan, A.D. ; Shvydka, Diana

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys. & Astron., Toledo Univ., OH, USA

fYear

2002

fDate

19-24 May 2002

Firstpage

708

Lastpage

711

Abstract

We discuss the effects of micrononuniformities on thin-film photovoltaics. The key factors are the device large area and the presence of potential barriers. We model the nonuniformity effects in terms of random microdiodes connected in parallel through a resistive electrode. Microdiodes of low open circuit voltage affect macroscopically large regions. They strongly reduce the device performance and induce nonuniform degradation in several different modes. We support our predictions with experimental results on CdTe/CdS dot cells.

Keywords

II-VI semiconductors; cadmium compounds; defect states; semiconductor device models; semiconductor device reliability; semiconductor thin films; solar cells; CdTe-CdS; CdTe/CdS dot cells; device large area; low open circuit voltages; micrononuniformity effects; nonuniform degradation; nonuniformity effects modeling; parallel connected random microdiodes; potential barriers; resistive electrode; thin-film photovoltaics; Circuits; Degradation; Grain boundaries; Heat treatment; Millimeter wave devices; Photovoltaic cells; Physics; Semiconductor diodes; Thin film devices; Transistors;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002. Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE

ISSN

1060-8371

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7471-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2002.1190663

Filename

1190663