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Updated: Aug 14, 2025
Close-Space Sublimation-Deposited Ultra-Thin CdSeTe/CdTe Solar Cells for Enhanced Short-Circuit Current Density and Photoluminescence
Published on: March 6, 2020
Rapid thermal evaporation for cadmium selenide thin-film solar cells
Kanghua Li1, Xuetian Lin1,2, Boxiang Song1
1Sargent Joint Research Center, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics (WNLO), School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
Abstract:
Cadmium selenide (CdSe) belongs to the binary II-VI group semiconductor with a direct bandgap of ∼1.7 eV. The suitable bandgap, high stability, and low manufacturing cost make CdSe an extraordinary candidate as the top cell material in silicon-based tandem solar cells. However, only a few studies have focused on CdSe thin-film solar cells in the past decades. With the advantages of a high deposition rate (∼2 °m/min) and high uniformity, rapid thermal evaporation (RTE) was used to maximize the use efficiency of CdSe source material. A stable and pure hexagonal phase CdSe thin film with a large grain size was achieved. The CdSe film demonstrated a 1.72 eV bandgap, narrow photoluminescence peak, and fast photoresponse. With the optimal device structure and film thickness, we finally achieved a preliminary efficiency of 1.88% for CdSe thin-film solar cells, suggesting the applicability of CdSe thin-film solar cells.
