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Open-Circuit Voltage Decay in CdTe/CdS Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Kent Price
Affiliation:
k.price@moreheadstate.edu
Kevin Cooper
Affiliation:
Lewis County High SchoolVanceburgKY41179, USA
Chris Lacy
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Sciences, Morehead State UniversityMoreheadKY40351, USA
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Abstract

Open-Circuit Voltage Decay (OCVD) is a common technique used to characterize numerous semiconductor devices. However, to the knowledge of the authors, the technique has not previously been applied to CdTe-based solar cells. We use a simple setup consisting of a function generator, rectifying diode, and digital oscilloscope to measure the dark open circuit voltage decay as a function of time across a CdTe solar cell. We find the decay to be described by the equation v(t) = v0 + A1exp (–t/τ1) + A2exp (–t/τ2) where v is the voltage, t is time, τ1 and τ2 are characteristic decay times, and A1, A2 and v0 are constants. The two characteristic decay times are on the order of 10 μs and 500 μs. The relative contribution of the two decay times depends on the magnitude of the initial applied voltage pulse. We will describe preliminary results on the correlation between the OCVD and solar cell performance, including the effects of light-soaking on OCVD behavior.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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