Characterization of Cu1.4Te thin films for CdTe solar cells

Abstract

The copper telluride thin films were prepared by a coevaporation technique. The single-phase Cu1.4Te thin films could be obtained after annealing, and annealing temperature higher than 220°C could induce the presence of cuprous telluride coexisting phase. Cu1.4Te thin films also demonstrate the high carrier concentration and high reflectance for potential photovoltaic applications from the UV-visible-IR transmittance and reflectance spectra, and Hall measurements. With contacts such as Cu 1.4Te and Cu1.4Te/CuTe, cell efficiencies comparable to those with conventional back contacts have been achieved. Temperature cycle tests show that the Cu1.4Te contact buffer has also improved cell stability. © 2014 Guangcan Luo et al.