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Impact of In Situ Annealing Time on CdTe Polycrystalline Film and Device Performance

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Abstract

We studied the impact of in situ post-growth annealing process on cadmium telluride (CdTe) polycrystalline thin film in this work. Samples of different annealing times have been characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The optoelectronic properties of CdTe film were deeply studied with light I–V testing, external quantum efficiency (EQE) and photoluminescence (PL)/time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements. It is found that the in situ post-growth annealing treatment has a great effect on cadmium sulfide (CdS)/CdTe intermixing as well as interface pinholes. Elementary correlations between annealing time, film and junction morphology, carrier lifetime and device performance were investigated, and the annealing time turns out to be crucial to CdTe device performance. Solar cells with CdTe polycrystalline thin film annealed in situ at 550°C/550°C for 10 min show the best performance. With the help of precisely controlled annealing time, better CdTe film microstructure and morphology can be realized after in situ post-growth annealing.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2015AA050610) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61704115).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China

    Huagui Lai, Kang Li, Lili Wu, Hang Xu, Chuang Li, Chunxiu Li, Jingquan Zhang, Xia Hao & Lianghuan Feng

  2. Institute of New Energy and Low-Carbon Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China

    Xia Hao

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  1. Huagui Lai
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  2. Kang Li
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  3. Lili Wu
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  4. Hang Xu
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  5. Chuang Li
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  9. Lianghuan Feng
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Correspondence to Lili Wu.

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Lai, H., Li, K., Wu, L. et al. Impact of In Situ Annealing Time on CdTe Polycrystalline Film and Device Performance. J. Electron. Mater. 48, 853–860 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6792-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6792-6

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