Photocurrent enhancement of spin coated CdS thin films by adding Cu

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that adding trace Cu to CdS thin films enhances their photovoltaic efficiency by reducing the optical band gap and increasing photocurrent, without altering the crystal structure, thus improving their potential for solar cell applications.

Contribution

The paper presents a method to improve CdS thin film photovoltaic properties by Cu addition, maintaining structural integrity while enhancing efficiency.

Findings

Photocurrent and efficiency increase with Cu addition.

Optical band gap decreases as Cu percentage increases.

Structural phase of CdS remains unchanged with Cu addition.

Abstract

Cu added CdS films were synthesized using spin coating technique at different spin speeds for different time durations. Films were subsequently annealed at different temperatures for different time periods in air to crystallize the phase of CdS in thin film form. Films were characterized using XRD, UV- visible spectrometer and solar simulator. According to XRD patterns, addition of trace amount of Cu did not change the structure of CdS. However, the optical band gap gradually decreases with percentage of Cu as expected. As a result, the photocurrent, fill factor and efficiency measured in KI/I2 electrolyte gradually increase with the amount of Cu. Photovoltaic properties could be improved without altering the structure of CdS. Efficiency enhanced CdS films find potential applications in solar cell industry.