Abstract
AbstractTo fabricate a high‐efficiency polycrystalline thin‐film tandem cell, the most critical work is to make a high‐efficiency top cell ( > 15%) with high bandgap (Eg = 1·5–1·8 eV) and high transmission (T > 70%) in the near‐infrared (NIR) wavelength region. The CdTe cell is one of the candidates for the top cell, because CdTe state‐of‐the‐art single‐junction devices with efficiencies of more than 16% are available, although its bandgap (1·48 eV) is slightly lower for a top cell in a current‐matched dual‐junction device. In this paper, we focus on the development of a: (1) thin, low‐bandgap CuxTe transparent back‐contact; and (2) modified CdTe device structure, including three novel materials: cadmium stannate transparent conducting oxide (TCO), ZnSnOx buffer layer, and nanocrystalline CdS:O window layer developed at NREL, as well as the high‐quality CdTe film, to improve transmission in the NIR region while maintaining high device efficiency. We have achieved an NREL‐confirmed 13·9%‐efficient CdTe transparent solar cell with an infrared transmission of ∼50% and a CdTe/CIS polycrystalline mechanically stacked thin‐film tandem cell with an NREL‐confirmed efficiency of 15·3%. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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