An Atmospheric Pressure Vapor Deposition Process for the Development of Thin Film Solar Cells

This project focuses on a fundamental investigation into the impact of stoichiometric variations on the doping of II-IV compounds such as Cadmium telluride (CdTe), deposited in polycrystalline form. The main experimental tool is a vapor deposition apparatus, which will be used to deposit CdTe films under various growth conditions (Cd/Te ratio; the films will also be extrinsically doped with impurities such as antimony (Sb)). Hall Effect studies will be performed on the materials, providing information on n-type and p-type concentration. In addition, impurity profiling will quantify the impact of dopants on the efficiency of solar cells made with this material; photoluminescence measurements will also be used to study the optical properties of the films. Ultimately, these investigations will reveal optimal aspects that will increase the efficiency of solar cells to near 20%. This will lead to the widespread usage of thin–film PV cells for electricity generation due to their inexpensive manufacturing costs and flexibility of being developed on various substrates, which improves their level of durability over that of conventional PV-cells