Recent Progress on Solution-Processed CdTe Nanocrystals Solar Cells

Efficient Nanocrystal Photovoltaics with PTAA as Hole Transport Layer

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solution-processed CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) solar cells has been significantly promoted in recent years due to the optimization of device design by advanced interface engineering techniques. However, further development of CdTe NC solar cells is still limited by the low open-circuit voltage (V_oc) (mostly in range of 0.5-0.7 V), which is mainly attributed to the charge recombination at the CdTe/electrode interface. Herein, we demonstrate a high-efficiency CdTe NCs solar cell by using organic polymer poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA) as the hole transport layer (HTL) to decrease the interface recombination and enhance the V_oc. The solar cell with the architecture of ITO/ZnO/CdS/CdSe/CdTe/PTAA/Au was fabricated via a layer-by-layer solution process. Experimental results show that PTAA offers better back contact for reducing interface resistance than the device without HTL. It is found that a dipole layer is produced between the CdTe NC thin film and the back contact electrode; thus the built-in electric field (V_bi) is reinforced, allowing more efficient carrier separation. By introducing the PTAA HTL in the device, the open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density and the fill factor are simultaneously improved, leading to a high PCE of 6.95%, which is increased by 30% compared to that of the control device without HTL (5.3%). This work suggests that the widely used PTAA is preferred as the excellent HTL for achieving highly efficient CdTe NC solar cells.

CdTe X/γ-ray Detectors with Different Contact Materials

Different contact materials and optimization of techniques of their depositions expand the possibilities to obtain high performance room temperature CdTe-based X/γ-ray detectors. The heterostructures with ohmic (MoO_x) and Schottky (MoO_x, TiO_x, TiN, and In) contacts, created by DC reactive magnetron sputtering and vacuum thermal evaporation, as well as In/CdTe/Au diodes with a p-n junction, formed by laser-induced doping, have been developed and investigated. Depending on the surface pre-treatment of semi-insulating p-CdTe crystals, the deposition of a MoO_x film formed either ohmic or Schottky contacts. Based on the calculations and I-V characteristics of the Mo-MoO_x/p-CdTe/MoO_x-Mo, In/p-CdTe/MoO_x-Mo, Ti-TiO_x/p-CdTe/MoO_x-Mo, and Ti-TiN/p-CdTe/MoO_x-Mo Schottky-diode detectors, the current transport processes were described in the models of the carrier generation-recombination within the space-charge region (SCR) at low bias, and space-charge limited current incorporating the Poole-Frenkel effect at higher voltages, respectively. The energies of generation-recombination centers, density of trapping centers, and effective carrier lifetimes were determined. Nanosecond laser irradiation of the In electrode, pre-deposited on the p-CdTe crystals, resulted in extending the voltage range, corresponding to the carrier generation-recombination in the SCR in the I-V characteristics of the In/CdTe/Au diodes. Such In/CdTe/Au p-n junction diode detectors demonstrated high energy resolutions (7%@59.5 keV, 4%@122 keV, and 1.6%@662 keV).

Efficient CdTe Nanocrystal/TiO₂ Hetero-Junction Solar Cells with Open Circuit Voltage Breaking 0.8 V by Incorporating A Thin Layer of CdS Nanocrystal

Nanocrystal solar cells (NCs) allow for large scale solution processing under ambient conditions, permitting a promising approach for low-cost photovoltaic products. Although an up to 10% power conversion efficiency (PCE) has been realized with the development of device fabrication technologies, the open circuit voltage (Voc) of CdTe NC solar cells has stagnated below 0.7 V, which is significantly lower than most CdTe thin film solar cells fabricated by vacuum technology (around 0.8 V~0.9 V). To further improve the NC solar cells' performance, an enhancement in the Voc towards 0.8⁻1.0 V is urgently required. Given the unique processing technologies and physical properties in CdTe NC, the design of an optimized band alignment and improved junction quality are important issues to obtain efficient solar cells coupled with high Voc. In this work, an efficient method was developed to improve the performance and Voc of solution-processed CdTe nanocrystal/TiO₂ hetero-junction solar cells. A thin layer of solution-processed CdS NC film (~5 nm) as introduced into CdTe NC/TiO₂ to construct hetero-junction solar cells with an optimized band alignment and p-n junction quality, which resulted in a low dark current density and reduced carrier recombination. As a result, devices with improved performance (5.16% compared to 2.63% for the control device) and a Voc as high as 0.83 V were obtained; this Voc value is a record for a solution-processed CdTe NC solar cell.

Solution-Processed CdTe Thin-Film Solar Cells Using ZnSe Nanocrystal as a Buffer Layer

The CdTe nanocrystal (NC) is an outstanding, low-cost photovoltaic material for highly efficient solution-processed thin-film solar cells. Currently, most CdTe NC thin-film solar cells are based on CdSe, ZnO, or CdS buffer layers. In this study, a wide bandgap and Cd-free ZnSe NC is introduced for the first time as the buffer layer for all solution-processed CdTe/ZnSe NC hetero-junction thin-film solar cells with a configuration of ITO/ZnO/ZnSe/CdTe/MoOx/Au. The dependence of the thickness of the ZnSe NC film, the annealing temperature and the chemical treatment on the performance of NC solar cells are investigated and discussed in detail. We further develop a ligand-exchanging strategy that involves 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) during the fabrication of ZnSe NC film. An improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.58% is obtained, which is increased by 16.6% when compared to a device without the EDT treatment. We believe that using ZnSe NC as the buffer layer holds the potential for developing high-efficiency, low cost, and stable CdTe NC-based solar cells.

Rationally Controlled Synthesis of CdSexTe1-x Alloy Nanocrystals and Their Application in Efficient Graded Bandgap Solar Cells

CdSe_xTe_1−x semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), being rod-shaped/irregular dot-shaped in morphology, have been fabricated via a simple hot-injection method. The NCs composition is well controlled through varying molar ratios of Se to Te precursors. Through changing the composition of the CdSe_xTe_1−x NCs, the spectral absorption of the NC thin film between 570–800 nm is proved to be tunable. It is shown that the bandgap of homogeneously alloyed CdSe_xTe_1−x active thin film is nonlinearly correlated with the different compositions, which is perceived as optical bowing. The solar cell devices based on CdSe_xTe_1−x NCs with the structure of ITO/ZnO/CdSe/CdSe_xTe_1−x/MoO_x/Au and the graded bandgap ITO/ZnO/CdSe(w/o)/CdSe_xTe_1−x/CdTe/MoO_x/Au are systematically evaluated. It was found that the performance of solar cells degrades almost linearly with the increase of alloy NC film thickness with respect to ITO/ZnO/CdSe/CdSe_0.2Te_0.8/MoO_x/Au. From another perspective, in terms of the graded bandgap structure of ITO/ZnO/CdSe/CdSe_xTe_1−x/CdTe/MoO_x/Au, the performance is improved in contrast with its single-junction analogues. The graded bandgap structure is proved to be efficient when absorbing spectrum and the solar cells fabricated under the structure of ITO/ZnO/CdSe_0.8Te_0.2/CdSe_0.2Te_0.8/CdTe/MoO_x/Au indicate power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.37%, a value among the highest for solution-processed inversely-structured CdSe_xTe_1−x NC solar cells. As the NC solar cells are solution-processed under environmental conditions, they are promising for fabricating solar cells at low cost, roll by roll and in large area.

High-Efficiency Aqueous-Processed Polymer/CdTe Nanocrystals Planar Heterojunction Solar Cells with Optimized Band Alignment and Reduced Interfacial Charge Recombination

Aqueous-processed nanocrystal solar cells have attracted increasing attention due to the advantage of its environmentally friendly nature, which provides a promising approach for large-scale production. The urgent affair is boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) for further commercial applications. The low PCE is mainly attributed to the imperfect device structure, which leads to abundant nonradiative recombination at the interfaces. In this work, an environmentally friendly and efficient method is developed to improve the performance of aqueous-processed CdTe nanocrystal solar cells. Polymer/CdTe planar heterojunction solar cells (PHSCs) with optimized band alignment are constructed, which results in reduced interfacial charge recombination, enhanced carrier collection efficiency and built-in field. Finally, a champion PCE of 5.9%, which is a record for aqueous-processed solar cells based on CdTe nanocrystals, is achieved after optimizing the photovoltaic device.

CdTe Nanocrystal Hetero-Junction Solar Cells with High Open Circuit Voltage Based on Sb-doped TiO₂ Electron Acceptor Materials

We propose Sb-doped TiO₂ as electron acceptor material for depleted CdTe nanocrystal (NC) hetero-junction solar cells. Novel devices with the architecture of FTO/ZnO/Sb:TiO₂/CdTe/Au based on CdTe NC and TiO₂ precursor are fabricated by rational ambient solution process. By introducing TiO₂ with dopant concentration, we are able to tailor the optoelectronic properties of NC solar cells. Our novel devices demonstrate a very high open circuit voltage of 0.74 V, which is the highest V_oc reported for any CdTe NC based solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells increases with the increase of Sb-doped content from 1% to 3%, then decreases almost linearly with further increase of Sb content due to the recombination effect. The champion device shows J_sc, V_oc, FF, and PCE of 14.65 mA/cm², 0.70 V, 34.44, and 3.53% respectively, which is prospective for solution processed NC solar cells with high V_oc.

Tandem Solar Cells from Solution-Processed CdTe and PbS Quantum Dots Using a ZnTe-ZnO Tunnel Junction

We developed a monolithic CdTe-PbS tandem solar cell architecture in which both the CdTe and PbS absorber layers are solution-processed from nanocrystal inks. Due to their tunable nature, PbS quantum dots (QDs), with a controllable band gap between 0.4 and ∼1.6 eV, are a promising candidate for a bottom absorber layer in tandem photovoltaics. In the detailed balance limit, the ideal configuration of a CdTe (E_g = 1.5 eV)-PbS tandem structure assumes infinite thickness of the absorber layers and requires the PbS band gap to be 0.75 eV to theoretically achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 45%. However, modeling shows that by allowing the thickness of the CdTe layer to vary, a tandem with efficiency over 40% is achievable using bottom cell band gaps ranging from 0.68 and 1.16 eV. In a first step toward developing this technology, we explore CdTe-PbS tandem devices by developing a ZnTe-ZnO tunnel junction, which appropriately combines the two subcells in series. We examine the basic characteristics of the solar cells as a function of layer thickness and bottom-cell band gap and demonstrate open-circuit voltages in excess of 1.1 V with matched short circuit current density of 10 mA/cm² in prototype devices.