Presentation Details
| Oxide Formation on CdTe and MgxCd1–xTe as a Back Surface Passivation Material Noah Kamm1, Xiaoyang Liu2, Zheng Ju2, Xin Qi2, Yong-Hang Zhang2, Anthony Nicholson3, Amit Munshi3, D.Bruce Busshholz4, Arashdeep Thind1, Robert Klie1. 1Department of Physics, University of Illinois in Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.2Department of Electrical Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA |
Abstract
An important area of CdTe solar device development is the creation of a suitable back contact interface with a well-passivated surface layer, preventing electron-hole recombination that leads to device efficiency loss. In this submission, we use scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) techniques to characterize native oxide formation on CdTe and MgxCd1–xTe layers at the nanometer scale, finding a formation of amorphous TeOx on the CdTe surface and amorphous MgO on the MgxCd1–xTe surface. In addition, small areas of TeOx are present near the exposed surface of the MgO oxide layer. Preferencial surface terminations were also observed at the interfaces, with Cd terminations at the CdTe/TeOx interface and Te terminations at the MgxCd1–xTe/MgO interface.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.