Development of Polyaniline using electrochemical technique for plugging pinholes in Cadmium Sulfide/Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells

Polyaniline (PAni) thin films were prepared by using an electrochemical polymerization technique on glass/FTO substrates by varying the deposition potential, deposition time, pH concentrations and heat treatment conditions. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of electrodeposited PAni films were characterized using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, optical profilometry and D.C. conductivity measurements. Structural analysis shows the formation of the highest crystallinity for PAni thin film grown at V g 1654 mV. Optical absorption measurements have demonstrated a wide variety of energy band gaps (E g), varying from ≥0.50 eV to 2.40 eV for PAni grown by tuning the pH value during the deposition. The electrical resistivity showed an increase from 0.37 × 106 cm to 3.91 × 106 cm when the pH increased from 2.00 to 6.50. The diode structures of glass/FTO/CdS/CdTe/PAni/Au were fabricated incorporating PAni as a pinhole plugging layer, and assessed for their photovoltaic activities. The results showed the enhancement of all device parameters, especially of open circuit voltage and fill factors. This improvement offers a great potential for enhancing solar cell performance and the device lifetime, and the latest results are presented in this paper.