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PEDOT:PSS as back contact for CdTe solar cells and the effect of PEDOT:PSS conductivity on device performance

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Abstract

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was studied as the back contact of Cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells and was compared with conventional Cu-based back contact. A series of PEDOT:PSS aqueous solutions with different conductivities were spin coated onto the glass/SnO2:F/SnO2/CdS/CdTe structures as back contact, and the PEDOT:PSS conductivity dependence of device performance was studied. It was found that PEDOT:PSS back contact with higher conductivity produces devices with lower series resistance and higher shunt resistance, leading to higher fill factor and higher device efficiencies. As the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS increased from 0.03 to 0.24 S/cm, the efficiency of the solar cell increased from 2.7 to 5.1 %. Methanol cleaning also played an important role in increasing the device performance. The efficiency of our best device with PEDOT:PSS back contact has reached 9.1 %, approaching those with conventional Cu/Au back contact (12.5 %).

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Cottrell College Science Award (ID No. 22656) from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, DOE SunShot Program, New Jersey Space Grant Consortium, and SHU-URC award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, 07079, USA

    Weining Wang, Fernanda Duarte & Michael Mount

  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA

    Naba Raj Paudel & Yanfa Yan

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  1. Weining Wang
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  2. Naba Raj Paudel
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Correspondence to Weining Wang.

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Wang, W., Paudel, N.R., Yan, Y. et al. PEDOT:PSS as back contact for CdTe solar cells and the effect of PEDOT:PSS conductivity on device performance. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 27, 1057–1061 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3850-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3850-1

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