Electron and hole drift mobility measurements on thin film CdTe solar cells

Abstract

We report electron and hole drift mobilities in thin film polycrystalline CdTe solar cells based on photocarrier time-of-flight measurements. For a deposition process similar to that used for high-efficiency cells, the electron drift mobilities are in the range of 10−1–100 cm2/V s, and holes are in the range of 100–101 cm2/V s. The electron drift mobilities are about a thousand times smaller than those measured in single crystal CdTe with time-of-flight; the hole mobilities are about ten times smaller. Cells were examined before and after a vapor phase treatment with CdCl2; treatment had little effect on the hole drift mobility, but decreased the electron mobility. We are able to exclude bandtail trapping and dispersion as a mechanism for the small drift mobilities in thin film CdTe, but the actual mechanism reducing the mobilities from the single crystal values is not known.