Title: Cu₂Te solar cells fabricated by printing

Authors: Duy-Cuong Nguyen; Seigo Ito

Addresses: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo, 2167 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan ' Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo, 2167 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan

Abstract: Cu₂Te particles were synthesised by ball milling and then printed on an In₂S₃/TiO₂/FTO-glass substrate, resulting in superstrate-structured solar cells. The as-prepared Cu₂Te particles were amorphous, but their crystallinity was improved after annealing at 400-650°C. The Cu₂Te particles annealed at 400°C, melted partially, and a completely melted Cu₂Te film was obtained at annealing temperatures of 600-650°C. The band gap of the Cu₂Te films annealed at 400-600°C was approximately 0.8 eV. The photovoltaic characteristics of the best full Cu₂Te cells were as follows: short-circuit current, 21 mA/cm²; open-circuit voltage, 0.24 V; fill factor, 0.3; and energy conversion efficiency, 1.57%. Thus, Cu₂Te with its low melting point and high photocurrent is a promising candidate absorber layer for solar cell applications.

Keywords: Cu2Te particles; solar cells; superstrate; ball milling; printing; copper telluride; absorber layers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2013.053140

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2013 Vol.10 No.3/4, pp.269 - 278

Published online: 05 Apr 2013 *

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