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Ultra-thin CdTe film properties enhancement via eco-friendly MgCl2-assisted thermal treatment

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dc.citedby3
dc.contributor.authorIslam M.A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorNur-E-Alam M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorHatta S.F.W.M.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMohafez H.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMisran H.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWahab Y.A.en_US
dc.contributor.authorChowdhury Z.Z.en_US
dc.contributor.authorSoin N.B.en_US
dc.contributor.authorid57220973693en_US
dc.contributor.authorid57197752581en_US
dc.contributor.authorid22634464300en_US
dc.contributor.authorid57189693027en_US
dc.contributor.authorid6506899840en_US
dc.contributor.authorid57203353903en_US
dc.contributor.authorid36975026400en_US
dc.contributor.authorid13008659000en_US
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-03T07:41:46Z
dc.date.available2025-03-03T07:41:46Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractThe thermal treatment of the CdTe thin film in the presence of CdCl2 is a crucial step in the creation of high-efficiency CdTe-based solar cells. The process influences the grain growth, grain boundary passivation, and doping, including CdTe recrystallization, and promotes to building of the photovoltaic junction. However, toxic Cd2+ ions released by the CdCl2, which is highly soluble in water is a major environmental concern of this process. Also, the price of CdCl2 (about 30 cents/gram) that drives up manufacturing costs is another limitation of the current processs. Finding a non-toxic Cl molecule is therefore currently in high demand and key factor for the thermal treatment of CdTe. In this study, MgCl2 was thoroughly explored as an alternative, non-toxic, and somewhat less expensive chlorine-containing chemical for CdTe thermal treatment. CdTe thin films, approximately 1.0��m thick, were deposited on a glass substrate at 350 �C using RF magnetron sputtering, and after deposition, different concentrations of MgCl2 (0.2�M, 0.3�M, 0.4�M, and 0.5�M) mixed with 10% methanol were applied to the films for around 10�s, forming a thin MgCl2 coating, followed by the optimized heat treatment at 400��C in a nitrogen?oxygen environment. We found that the thermal treatment of CdTe films using MgCl2 showed improved crystallinity, surface morphology, impurity profiles, and carrier density similar to the conventional CdCl2 process. The sample treated with 0.4�M MgCl2 exhibited the best output as obtained the band gap of nearly 1.46�eV, a refractive index of 2.84, a carrier concentration of 9.81E+15�cm?3, and mobility 35.08�cm2/V-S with a moderate resistivity. Our findings show that MgCl2 could be utilized instead of traditional CdCl2 in the current fabrication procedure, which substantially lowers the environmental hazard with a cost-effective production process of CdTe-assembled solar cells. ? The Author(s) 2024.en_US
dc.description.natureFinalen_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s12596-023-01621-z
dc.identifier.epage4697
dc.identifier.issue5
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-85185960987
dc.identifier.spage4690
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85185960987&doi=10.1007%2fs12596-023-01621-z&partnerID=40&md5=00d2adbf9514fdbafb206e134cd584e2
dc.identifier.urihttps://irepository.uniten.edu.my/handle/123456789/36273
dc.identifier.volume53
dc.pagecount7
dc.publisherSpringeren_US
dc.relation.ispartofAll Open Access; Hybrid Gold Open Access
dc.sourceScopus
dc.sourcetitleJournal of Optics (India)
dc.subjectCadmium chloride
dc.subjectCadmium telluride
dc.subjectCarrier concentration
dc.subjectCost effectiveness
dc.subjectCrystallinity
dc.subjectEnergy gap
dc.subjectGlass substrates
dc.subjectGrain boundaries
dc.subjectGrain growth
dc.subjectGrain size and shape
dc.subjectHeat treatment
dc.subjectII-VI semiconductors
dc.subjectMagnesium compounds
dc.subjectMagnetron sputtering
dc.subjectMorphology
dc.subjectRefractive index
dc.subjectSemiconductor doping
dc.subjectSurface morphology
dc.subjectThin films
dc.subjectEco-friendly
dc.subjectFilms properties
dc.subjectGrain-boundaries
dc.subjectHigh mobility
dc.subjectHigher efficiency
dc.subjectNon-toxic
dc.subjectRaman studies
dc.subjectRecrystallisation
dc.subjectThin-films
dc.subjectUltra thin CdTe
dc.subjectChlorine compounds
dc.titleUltra-thin CdTe film properties enhancement via eco-friendly MgCl2-assisted thermal treatmenten_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dspace.entity.typePublication
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