Journal article 9 views
Improved Voc using Ce-alloyed ZnO buffer layers in thin film CdSeTe/CdTe solar cells
,
Xiaolei Liu,
Zhaoxia Zhou,
Stuart Robertson,
Ali Abbas,
Mustafa Togay ,
Samuel E Machin,
Jacques Kenyon,
Zeyad Elsayed ,
Kieran M Curson,
Ciaran Llewelyn ,
Dan Lamb ,
Stuart Irvine,
Wei Zhang,
Chungho Lee,
Timothy Nagle,
Dingyuan Lu,
Gang Xiong ,
Jake W Bowers ,
John M Walls
Journal of Physics: Energy, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Start page: 025017
Swansea University Authors:
Ciaran Llewelyn , Dan Lamb , Stuart Irvine
-
PDF | Version of Record
© 2026 The Author(s). Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Download (6.58MB)
DOI (Published version): 10.1088/2515-7655/ae7760
Abstract
Incorporating ZnO as a buffer layer in thin film CdSeTe/CdTe solar cells leads to high conversion efficiencies. However, the sub-optimal band alignment at the ZnO/CdSeTe interface limits the Voc. In this study, Ce is used to alloy the ZnO buffer layer to widen the band gap and improve band alignment...
| Published in: | Journal of Physics: Energy |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2515-7655 |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2026
|
| Online Access: |
Check full text
|
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72181 |
| Abstract: |
Incorporating ZnO as a buffer layer in thin film CdSeTe/CdTe solar cells leads to high conversion efficiencies. However, the sub-optimal band alignment at the ZnO/CdSeTe interface limits the Voc. In this study, Ce is used to alloy the ZnO buffer layer to widen the band gap and improve band alignment, leading to an increase in Jsc and Voc. The 50 nm and 100 nm thick ZnO and CeZnO buffer layers are deposited on SnO 2:F coated soda-lime glass using radio frequency sputtering. To study the effect of Ce alloying, the Ce atomic percent is varied from 3% to 9%. The buffer layers are fabricated into As-doped CdSeTe/CdTe devices using First Solar’s process. The device incorporating the 3% CeZnO buffer layer leads to the highest efficiency and Voc. However, the saturation current density and ideality factor are observed to increase as the Ce content increases, suggesting that Ce alloying degrades the quality of the front p–n junction. The interface defect density is estimated using C– V and DLCP profiling, the interface defect density is observed to increase significantly when incorporating more than 3% Ce. There is an apparent trade-off between front interface passivation and band alignment. |
|---|---|
| Keywords: |
CeO2, ZnO, CeZnO, buffer layer, CdSeTe/CdTe solar cell, band alignment |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
UKRI and EPSRC (EP/W00092X/1 and EP/W000555/1); EPSRC Supergen SuperSolar Network+. |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
025017 |