Heat treatment effects in Cu2S–CdS heterojunction photovoltaic cells

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Abstract
The photovoltaic properties of single‐crystal Cu2S–CdS heterojunctions have been investigated as a function of heat treatment by detailed measurements of the dependence of short‐circuit current on photon energy, temperature, and the state of optical degradation or enhancement. A coherent picture is formulated for the relationship between enhancement and optical degradation and for their effect on the transport of short‐circuit photoexcited current and dark forward‐bias current in the cell. Optical degradation in the Cu2S–CdS cell is shown to be closely identical to optical degradation of lifetime in a homogeneous CdS: Cd: Cu crystal, which indicates that the CdS: Cu layer near the junction interface controls carrier transport in the cell. It is proposed that both the photoexcited short‐circuit current and the dark forward‐bias current are controlled by a tunneling‐recombination process through interface states. Changes in the junction profile resulting from enhancement and/or optical degradation modify the electric field at the barrier to modulate both currents.

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