Hydrogenation effects in sputtered polycrystalline cadmium telluride

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Abstract
The hydrogenation of rf sputtered thin film polycrystalline CdTe is reported. Hydrogenation is achieved by reactive sputtering in an argon and hydrogen mixture. Results include an order of magnitude decrease in conductivity, an increase and sign change in band bending for Au-CdTe junctions, and a significant increase in the anomalous photovoltaic effect (APE). APE coplanar voltages increase from approximately 10 V/cm without hydrogen to a maximum of 350 V/cm with hydrogenation. The results are interpreted in terms of increased band bending at crystallite surfaces and interfaces due to hydrogenation. These results support a previously proposed mechanism for the APE due to surface photovoltages in inclined crystallites.