@article{e29a3dd675a54399a4c5bb20476c67fc,
title = "Effects of Cu Precursor on the Performance of Efficient CdTe Solar Cells",
abstract = "Copper (Cu) incorporation is a key process for fabricating efficient CdTe-based thin-film solar cells and has been used in CdTe-based solar cell module manufacturing. Here, we investigate the effects of different Cu precursors on the performance of CdTe-based thin-film solar cells by incorporating Cu using a metallic Cu source (evaporated Cu) and ionic Cu sources (solution-processed cuprous chloride (CuCl) and copper chloride (CuCl2)). We find that ionic Cu precursors offer much better control in Cu diffusion than the metallic Cu precursor, producing better front junction quality, lower back-barrier heights, and better bulk defect property. Finally, outperforming power conversion efficiencies of 17.2 and 17.5\% are obtained for devices with cadmium sulfide and zinc magnesium oxide as the front window layers, respectively, which are among the highest reported CdTe solar cells efficiencies. Our results suggest that an ionic Cu precursor is preferred as the dopant to fabricate efficient CdTe thin-film solar cells and modules.",
author = "Bista, \{Sandip S.\} and Li, \{Deng Bing\} and Awni, \{Rasha A.\} and Zhaoning Song and Subedi, \{Kamala K.\} and Niraj Shrestha and Suman Rijal and Sabin Neupane and Grice, \{Corey R.\} and Phillips, \{Adam B.\} and Ellingson, \{Randy J.\} and Michael Heben and Li, \{Jian V.\} and Yanfa Yan",
note = "Funding Information: This work is based on research sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory under agreement number FA9453-18-2-0037 and FA9453-19-C-1002 and by the U.S. DOE{\textquoteright}s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Agreement DE-EE0008974. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon. We thank Dr. David Strickler from Pilkington North America Inc. for supplying us FTO coated glass substrate. Disclaimer: The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory or the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 American Chemical Society.",
year = "2021",
month = aug,
day = "18",
doi = "10.1021/acsami.1c11784",
language = "English",
volume = "13",
pages = "38432--38440",
journal = "ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces",
issn = "1944-8244",
publisher = "American Chemical Society",
number = "32",
}