Local electrical characterizations of cadmium telluride solar cells using low energy electron beam

Published

October 1, 2013

Author(s)

Heayoung Yoon, Paul M. Haney, Dmitry A. Ruzmetov, Hua Xu, Marina S. Leite, Behrang H. Hamadani, Albert A. Talin

Abstract

We investigate local electronic properties of cadmium telluride solar cells using electron beam induced current (EBIC) measurements with current-collecting patterned contacts. EBIC measurements are performed with a spatial resolution as high as ≈20 nm both on the top surface and throughout the cross-section of the device, revealing an enhanced carrier collection in the vicinity of grain boundaries. Furthermore, we measure local current-voltage characteristics using contacts with dimension both larger (≈5 µm × 10 µm) and smaller (≈1 µm × 1 µm) than the device thickness (≈4 m), finding that the value of local open-circuit voltage is also larger near grain boundaries.

Citation

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Volume

117

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.07.024

Keywords

solar cell, thin film, CdTe, grain boundary, electron beam induced current, EBIC, cross section, focused ion beam, FIB

Citation

Yoon, H. , Haney, P. , Ruzmetov, D. , Xu, H. , Leite, M. , Hamadani, B. and Talin, A. (2013), Local electrical characterizations of cadmium telluride solar cells using low energy electron beam, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.07.024 (Accessed October 14, 2025)