| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R39283/01 |
| Title: |
Impurities in CdTe: their Role in Optoelectronic Devices |
| Principal Investigator: |
Halliday, Professor DP |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
Durham, University of |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 April 2002 |
Ends: |
30 September 2005 |
Value (£): |
264,261
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
Optoelect. Devices & Circuits |
| Solar Technology |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The effect of impurities in CdTe as used in state of the art photovoltaic devices is not known. The range of impurities present and their effect on devices has not been investigated. Even fundamental issues such as the doping mechanism of the CdTe is not known with any certainty. Impurities are one of the key unresolved areas in this device technology. Low cost photovoltaic devices based on thin film CdTe are polycrystalline and the interaction between grain boundaries and impurities is not know. It is believed that impurities play a key role in the passivation of grain boundaries in polycrystalline CdTe.We will undertake a comprehensive study of the role of impurities in CdTe based optoelectronic devices using a sound and well proven methodology. Ultra pure reference devices will be grown and compared with state of the art devices. We will address the following issues: 1) what impurities are present in devices made from CdTe, 2) what concentrations do these have and where are they located in the device structure, 3) what is the origin of the impurities, 4) how are impurities involved in grain boundary passivation and 5) what are the beneficial and deleterious impurity species for CdTe based optoelectronic devices.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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