Magnetron Sputtering for Low-temperature Deposition of CdTe-based Photovoltaics

Although the deposition over large areas of polycrystalline thin-film semiconductors such as CdTe is possible by a variety of methods including close spaced sublimation, vapor transport deposition, physical vapor deposition, organometallic chemical vapor deposition, and electrodeposition, the use of a plasma-based method such as magnetron sputtering can have significant advantages. In this paper I review recent results from our group in the fabrication of CdS/CdTe cells using rf magnetron sputtering and discuss some of the advantages that appear possible from the use of sputtering methods in this class of materials. Some of these advantages are particularly relevant as the polycrystalline thin-film community address issues related to the challenges of fabricating high efficiency tandem cells with efficiencies over 25%. Recently we have achieved: improvements in sputtered cell performance with cells based on commercial SnO2:F as well as on substrates with our own sputtered ZnO:Al, progress in the use of reactive sputtering for the deposition of oxygen alloys of CdS and N-doped layers of ZnTe, and progress in the sputtering of wider and narrower bandgap alloys of CdTe with Zn, Mn, and Hg. Details of the sputtering process and some of the recent achievements are discussed below.