Electrical properties of electrodeposited CdTe photovoltaic devices on metallic substrates: study using small area Au–CdTe contacts

Abstract

Charge transport properties of the Schottky diodes fabricated on n-CdTe layers electrodeposited on stainless steel foil are investigated. The small area Au–CdTe contacts facilitated the investigation of the role of shunt and series resistances on the I– V characteristics of the thin-film CdTe device. The charge transport mechanism in these diodes is found to be generation–recombination in the depletion layer and over-barrier electron flow at low and higher bias voltages, respectively. By using this model a quantitative theoretical analysis of the current–voltage characteristics of the diodes is possible.