Incorporation of 2-D hexagonal boron nitride in thin film solar cells

Abstract Owing to the properties of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) such as its mechanical strength, high chemical and thermal stability, there has been significant interest in this two-dimensional material. This coupled with improved methods of synthesis has resulted in new applications. In this work we incorporate hexagonal boron nitride into thin film solar cells based on cadmium telluride and antimony selenide. This work entailed the deposition of a few layers of hexagonal boron nitride on the back surface of solar cells, sandwiched between the absorber layers (cadmium telluride, antimony selenide) and the metal contact. This study was designed to investigate whether hexagonal boron nitride would act to reduce the recombination rate in that region of the device. The consequence of this would be to enhance the open circuit voltage of the solar cells, which has been a blocking point for efficiency improvements in such solar cells. This study demonstrated improvements in performance of cadmium telluride solar cells. Therefore, this work opens new applications for hexagonal boron nitride in thin-film solar cells.