Abstract:
The dependences of the open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and efficiency of the thin-film CdS/CdTe solar cell on the resistivity $\rho$ and carrier lifetime $\tau$ in the absorbing CdTe layer were studied. In the common case in which the uncompensated acceptor concentration and the electron lifetime in the CdTe layer are within 10$^{15}$–10$^{16}$ cm$^{-3}$ and 10$^{-10}$–10$^{-9}$ s, the calculation results correspond to the achieved efficiency of the best thin-film CdS/CdTe solar cells. It was shown that, by decreasing $\rho$ and increasing $\tau$ in the absorbing CdTe layer, the open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and efficiency can be substantially increased, with their values approaching the theoretical limit for such devices.
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