The Effect of Si Nanoparticles and SiGe Nanoparticles on the Photovoltaic Conversion Efficiency CdS/CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells

The addition of embedded Si nanoparticles and SiGe nanoparticles in CdS/CdTe thin films deposited on ITO coated glass has been investigated in this study. We’re testing the effects of Si nanoparticles and SiGe nanoparticles on the efficiency of CdS/ CdTe thin film solar cells and comparing the effects of different deposition times, particles sizes, and how they compare with each other. Si was originally tested in order to compare to the results of Au and Ag nanoparticles. SiGe nanoparticles are also being tested because Ge is likely to form more stable nanoparticles. SiGe alloys will have higher mobility as charge carriers than Si. In the process of creating these solar cells, CdTe and CdS are deposited onto ITO coated glass substrates using the method of Pulsed Laser Deposition. Si or SiGe nanoparticles were deposited between the CdS layer and the CdTe layer using the PLD method with various deposition parameters and durations to obtain variations in nanoparticles coverage at the interface. In order to characterize the Si nanoparticle embedded thin films, XRD, AFM, and SEM/EDX were used.