“…Slight variation in the peak position of the (013) plane might have been observed because of the strain produced due the development of cubic and hexagonal phase of CdTe. A similar scenario of mixed cubic and hexagonal phases of electrodeposited CdTe thin film deposited on FTO glass substrates grown at different deposition times was reported by Yimamu et al [ 40 ]. Fig.…”
“…Slight variation in the peak position of the (013) plane might have been observed because of the strain produced due the development of cubic and hexagonal phase of CdTe. A similar scenario of mixed cubic and hexagonal phases of electrodeposited CdTe thin film deposited on FTO glass substrates grown at different deposition times was reported by Yimamu et al [ 40 ]. Fig.…”
“…Consequently, in situ acquisition of multimodality imaging from the same scanning area becomes crucial, requiring robust hardware instrumentation and analytical software support. [163,[183][184][185] Secondly, while AFM technology is mature and powerful, there is a need to explore the combined effect of multifunctionality and external stimulations. Integration of AFM with other complementary technologies can yield macro-and microlevel information about thin films simultaneously.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Consequently, in situ acquisition of multimodality imaging from the same scanning area becomes crucial, requiring robust hardware instrumentation and analytical software support. [ 163,183–185 ]…”
Atomicforce microscopy (AFM)‐based scanning probing techniques, including Kelvinprobe force microscopy (KPFM) and conductive atomic force microscopy (C‐AFM), have been widely applied to investigate thelocal electromagnetic, physical, or molecular characteristics of functional materials on a microscopic scale. The microscopic inhomogeneities of the electronic properties of polycrystalline photovoltaic materials can be examined by these advanced AFM techniques, which bridge the local properties of materials to overall device performance and guide the optimization of the photovoltaic devices. In this review, the critical roles of local optoelectronic heterogeneities, especially at grain interiors (GIs) and grain boundaries (GBs) of polycrystalline photovoltaic materials, including versatile polycrystalline silicon, inorganic compound materials, and emerging halide perovskites, studied by KPFM and C‐AFM, are systematically identified. How the band alignment and electrical properties of GIs and GBs affect the carrier transport behavior are discussed from the respective of photovoltaic research. Further exploiting the potential of such AFM‐based techniques upon a summary of their up‐to‐date applications in polycrystalline photovoltaic materials is beneficial to acomprehensive understanding of the design and manipulation principles of thenovel solar cells and facilitating the development of the next‐generation photovoltaics and optoelectronics.
“…The structure, morphology, surface roughness, and optical properties of CdTe thin films depend on the growth method and optimization of growth parameters [5]. There are several methods to grow CdTe thin films, such as vacuum evaporation [12], chemical molecular beam deposition (CMBD) method [13], close space sublimation (CSS) [14], physical vapour deposition [15], successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) [16], pulsed laser deposition (PLD) [17], metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) [18], coprecipitation [19], Radio frequency (RF) sputtering [20], sol-gel [21], chemical bath deposition (CBD) [22] and electrodeposition (ED) [23]. Each growth technique has its advantages and disadvantages.…”
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films were deposited using a two-electrode electrodeposition configuration from an aqueous acidic solution. The electrolyte solution contains 1 M of cadmium acetate dihydrate (Cd (CH3OO) 2.2H2O) as cadmium precursor and 1 ml of tellurium dioxide (TeO2) as tellurium precursor. The thin films were grown for different deposition times of 60, 120, 180, 240, and 300 min to investigate the effect of the deposition period on the structural, optical, electrical, surface morphology, elemental composition, and surface roughness properties of the CdTe thin films in both as-deposited and heat-treated forms. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that the CdTe thin films have polycrystalline cubic zinc blend, orthorhombic and hexagonal structures. The result confirmed that the cubic phase is dominant and (111) plane is the preferential orientation peak. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry study shows that the band gap of the as-deposited thin films varies from (1.41-1.45) eV, and after heat treatment, the band gap decreased to (1.35-1.42) eV. Photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) measurements show that CdTe thin films have n-type conductivity in both as-deposited and annealed forms. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows that the surface morphology of CdTe thin films changed as the deposition period increases. After heat treatment, the improvement in grain size was observed. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis shows that the percentage composition of as-deposited CdTe thin films varied with deposition time, with the best composition being recorded at 120 min deposition time. After post-deposition heat treatment (HT), the elemental compositions of Te decreased, and that of Cd increased. When the thin film was deposited at 120 min, the film with stoichiometric composition was observed after heat treatment. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) measurements revealed that the average surface roughness of the thin films varied with deposition time, with the sample grown for 120 min showing the highest roughness.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
