Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1666185 | Thin Solid Films | 2013 | 5 Pages |
Molybdenum oxide compounds exhibit unique electrical and optical properties depending on oxygen vacancy concentration and composition and therefore, have recently attracted a lot of attention as a hole transport layer in various devices.In this work CdTe solar cells in substrate configuration were grown with evaporated MoOx back contact buffer layers and efficiencies of up to 10% could be achieved without using Cu in the back contact processing. The buffer layer – at the CdTe/back contact interface – in the finished cell was found to consist of MoO2 phase instead of the expected MoO3 phase as observed in as-deposited or annealed MoOx layers without CdTe deposition.In order to obtain MoOx buffer layers with desired stoichiometry, MoOx thin films were deposited by radio-frequency sputtering under different growth conditions. The chemical phase, composition, microstructure and optical properties of such layers were studied for their possible use in CdTe solar cells.
► MoOx is used as a back contact buffer in CdTe solar cells in substrate configuration. ► Efficiency of 10.0% was achieved without the addition of Cu. ► The back contact buffer in the finished device consists only of MoO2. ► Phases and microstructure of MoOx can be controlled by sputtering conditions.