Characterisation of electro-deposited CdMnTe PV layers, including by SNMS

Electrodeposition of ternary compounds for novel PV application and optimisation of electrodeposited CdMnTe thin-films Scientific Reports 2020, 10, 21445; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78066-y Development of photovoltaic materials is critical to realising a low carbon economy. Many current devices rely on manufacturing using vacuum processing techniques, requiring large chambers and extensive pumping. Electrodeposition from a liquid electrolyte promises a far less capital intensive route, leading to cheaper PV panels as well as deposition on a range of shapes and materials. In this work, CdMnTe films have been electro deposited and characterised by a range of techniques, including Sputtered Neutral Mass Spectrometry (SNMS) on the Hiden SIMS workstation. SNMS is a high resolution sputter depth profiling method, similar to SIMS but with a linear response at high concentrations (0.1 to 100%), making it ideal for this type thin layer analysis. The method is also fast, with complete layer profiles being obtained in around 7 minutes.

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