EFFECT OF SINTERING CONDITIONS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF CD1-XZNXS FILMS

Polycrystalline Cd//1// minus //xZn//xS films were prepared by coating (1 minus x) CdS plus xZnS slurry on amorphous glass substrates and sintering in nitrogen or nitrogen atmosphere containing ZnCl//2 vapor to produce films with properties suitable for fabricating all polycrystalline Cd//1// minus //xZn//xS/CdTe heterojunction solar cells. The microstructure and optical properties of these films has been correlated with composition, CdCl//2 which was added as a sintering aid, sintering temperature and atmosphere. By optimizing the preparation conditions, it is possible to produce sintered Cd//1// minus //xZn//xS films on glass substrate with electrical resistivity less than 1 OMEGA multiplied by (times) cm and 15% higher optical transmission than CdS films.