An Investigation of CdZnTe Thin Films for Photovoltaics

Abstract

Thin film solar cells are widely investigated for terrestrial and space photovoltaic and offer a variety of choices in terms of the device design and fabrication. A variety of substrates, such as flexible or rigid, metal or insulator, can be used for deposition of different layers using different techniques, including physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, plasma-based, hybrid, etc. For large-area devices required for realistic applications, thin-film device fabrication becomes complex and requires proper control over the entire process sequence. Detailed investigation of thin-film deposition processes can help in achieving high-efficiency devices over large areas for different solar cells. PVD techniques were extensively used to deposit thin film by using a few targets simultaneously. In this study, single target CdZnTe is used for deposition on glass. Two hundred nm thin films were fabricated. Structural and optical properties of CdZnTe thin films are investigated.

Keywords:

• bandgap
• CdZnTe
• photovoltaic
• solar cells
• sputtering