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Air annealing evolution to physical characteristics of Cd0.85Zn0.15Te thin films: absorber layer applications to solar cell devices

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Abstract

The II–VI ternary chalcogenide Cd1-xZnxTe is considered as a vital absorber material for the development of single as well as multi-junction solar cell devices since it not only overcomes the problem of appropriate contact which lacks in CdTe based devices but enables band gap tunability too. Also, plummeting the surface and native defects in Cd1-xZnxTe thin films is crucial for obtaining unadulterated and homogeneous films. Accordingly, presented work is endowed with significant insights on upshot of air annealing on physical properties of resistive heating based thermally evaporated Cd0.85Zn0.15Te thin films which are annealed at temperature 200 °C, 300 °C and 400 °C. Structural studies revealed the supremacy of (111) and (220) orientations of zinc blende cubic phased Cd0.85Zn0.15Te and grain growth with heat treatment. The direct optical energy band gap (Eg) is attained within range 1.62–1.89 eV. The current–voltage (I–V) measurements demonstrated Ohmic character of developed films and topographical features portrayed hill-like topographies. Surface morphological images divulged small-spherical shaped and large-stone shaped grains and compositional analysis depicted the presence of Cadmium, Zinc and Tellurium peaks validating the successful deposition of Cd0.85Zn0.15Te films. The attained results connote that suitable grain growth, highest absorbance and optimum energy band gap of 300 °C air annealed Cd0.85Zn0.15Te films make these fitting absorbers for the associated single junction and tandem solar cell devices.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available within the article and can be provided from the corresponding author on reasonable request as per journal guidelines.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are appreciative to the Department of Physics, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Punjabi University, Patiala and PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore for undertaking experimentation and characterization. The Ministry of Education, Govt. of India and Ministry of Higher Education, Govt. of Rajasthan through RUSA 2.0 Research and Innovation project are accredited for monetary support for partial recurring expenses.

Funding

The Ministry of Education, Govt. of India and Ministry of Higher Education, Govt. of Rajasthan through RUSA 2.0 Research and Innovation project are accredited for monetary support for partial recurring expenses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, 313001, India

    Ritika Sharma, Arushi Sharma, Sakshi Chuhadiya & M. S. Dhaka

  2. Department of Physics, Punjabi University, Patiala, 147002, India

    A. Thakur

  3. Department of Physics, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641004, India

    M. D. Kannan

  4. Department of Physics, Gujarat Arts and Science College, Ellisbrige, Ahmedabad, 380006, India

    Sakshi Chuhadiya

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  1. Ritika Sharma
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All the authors have significantly contributed in the present work and therefore, they are credited for this work. The author wise credit is as under: RS: Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft. AS: Methodology, Writing—Original Draft. SC: Methodology, Writing—Original Draft. AT: Methodology, Writing—Original Draft. MDK: Methodology, Writing—Original Draft. MSD: Conceptualization, Writing—Original Draft, Supervision.

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Sharma, R., Sharma, A., Chuhadiya, S. et al. Air annealing evolution to physical characteristics of Cd0.85Zn0.15Te thin films: absorber layer applications to solar cell devices. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1403 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10759-2

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