Characterization of physical properties of thermally evaporated doped CdS thin films for photovoltaics

Polycrystalline thin films of Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) have been extensively studied for application as a window layer in CdTe/CdS and CIGS/CdS thin film solar cells. Higher efficiency of solar cells is possible by a better conductivity of a window layer, which can be achieved by doping these films with suitable elements. CdS thin films were deposited on properly cleaned glass substrate by thermal evaporation technique under vacuum 2 X 10/sup -5/ mbar. Films were structurally characterized by using X-ray diffraction. The X-ray diffraction spectra showed that the thin films were polycrystalline in nature. Aluminum was doped chemically in as deposited and annealed thin films by immersing films in Al(NO/sub 3)/sub 3/.9H/sub 2/O solutions respectively. Comparison between the effects of different doping ratios on the structural and optical properties of the films was investigated. Higher doping ratios have improved the electrical properties by decreasing the resistivity of the films and slightly changed the bandgap energy Eg. The grain size, strain, and dislocation density were calculated for as-deposited and annealed films. (author)