Investigation of interface morphology and composition mixing in CdTe/CdS heterojunction photovoltaic materials using synchrotron radiation

The interface microstructure in thin film photovoltaic materials is an important problem which can severely affect the light-conversion efficiency and stability of heterojunction solar cells. This is a long-standing fundamental problem, but has not been studied in the past by effective probing methods. In the present experiment, the interfacial roughness, correlation lengths of interface height fluctuations, effects of heat treatment, and diffusion of Te atoms across the heterojunction interface have been investigated by means of grazing incidence x-ray scattering and angular dependence of x-ray fluorescence using synchrotron radiation. We thus demonstrate that these x-ray techniques can provide a powerful tool for nondestructive characterization of the interfacial roughness and intermixing of selected atomic species in heterojunction photovoltaic materials.