Characterization of CBD–CdS layers with different S/Cd ratios in the chemical bath and their relation with the efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells

Abstract In previous papers we have reported the improvement of the efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells by varying the thiourea/CdCl 2 ratio ( R tc ) in the chemical bath solution used for the deposition of the CdS layers. In this work, a more complete study concerning the physical properties of Chemical Bath Deposited (CBD) CdS layers studied by photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction and optical spectroscopy are correlated to the I – V characteristics under AM 1.5 sunlight and the spectral response of CdS/CdTe solar cells. It is confirmed that the optimum R tc for the CBD CdS films is R tc = 5, since in this case the best solar cells were obtained and these films show the better optical and structural characteristics.