Charge transport in CdTe solar cells revealed by conductive tomographic atomic force microscopy

The influence of microstructural defects on the device properties in CdTe remains largely unknown. This is partly because characterization techniques have been unable to image electrical pathways throughout three-dimensional grains and grain boundaries with nanoscale resolution. Here, we employ a conductive and tomographic variation of atomic force microscopy to study charge transport at the nanoscale in a functioning thin-film solar cell with 12.3% efficiency. Images of electric current collected through the device thickness reveal spatially dependent short-circuit and open-circuit performance, and confirm that grain boundaries are preferential pathways for electron transport. Results on samples with and without cadmium chloride treatment reveal little difference in grain structure at the microscale, with samples without treatment showing almost no photocurrent either at planar defects or at grain boundaries. Our results supports an energetically orthogonal transport system of grain boundaries and interconnected planar defects as contributing to optimal solar cell performance, contrary to the conventional wisdom of the deleterious role of planar defects on polycrystalline thin-film solar cells.