Fabrication of Polycrystalline CdTe Thin-Film Solar Cells using Carbon Electrodes with Carbon Nanotubes

The effects of adding carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to carbon back electrodes in polycrystalline CdTe thin-film solar cells were investigated. The CNTs were prepared by arc discharge under atmospheric pressure. The conductivity of the obtained CNT film with a density of 1.65 g/cm3 was approximately 2.6 × 103 S/cm. In the CdTe solar cells using carbon back electrodes with CNTs, the fill factor (FF) was improved as a result of adding CNTs with a concentration of 1 to 5 wt %. The improvement of FF was mainly due to the decrease in the series resistance of the CdTe solar cell. Furthermore, the open-circuit voltage (VOC) was improved by the CNT addition. The improvement of VOC was probably due to the reduction of the back barrier at the back contact.