Extraordinary Carrier Diffusion on CdTe Surfaces Uncovered by 4D Electron Microscopy

Ahmed El-Zohry; Basamat S. Shaheen; Victor M. Burlakov; Jun Yin; Mohamed N. Hedhili; Semen Shikin; Boon S. Ooi; Osman Bakr; Omar F. Mohammed

doi:10.1016/j.chempr.2018.12.020

Extraordinary Carrier Diffusion on CdTe Surfaces Uncovered by 4D Electron Microscopy

Ahmed El-Zohry, Basamat S. Shaheen, Victor M. Burlakov, Jun Yin, Mohamed N. Hedhili, Semen Shikin, Boon S. Ooi, Osman Bakr, Omar F. Mohammed

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

The lack of understanding and control over losses of charge carriers at the surfaces/interfaces of solar cell materials is the major factor limiting overall device conversion efficiency. This work describes a breakthrough in real-space visualization of charge-carrier dynamics at the atomic surface level of CdTe, a leading direct bandgap semiconductor in commercial thin-film solar cells. We present a fundamentally new understanding of charge-carrier diffusion and carrier trapping of CdTe single crystals using a four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscope (4D-SUEM)—the only instrument of its kind currently in operation. We found that the diffusion of charge carriers at surfaces vary within extreme ranges, from extraordinary to virtually trapped when surface orientation was changed from (110) to (211). The work presented here is a milestone in addressing the device performance bottlenecks stemming from surfaces and a new avenue to create CdTe-based optoelectronic devices.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	706-718
Number of pages	13
Journal	Chem
Volume	5
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2018.12.020
State	Published - Feb 1 2019

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We thank Dr. Daliang Zhang (KAUST Core Labs) for helping with the HR-TEM analysis and simulations.

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10.1016/j.chempr.2018.12.020

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@article{e70ba64eaf7c4b3fbb70c6aaf8a3f4f0,

title = "Extraordinary Carrier Diffusion on CdTe Surfaces Uncovered by 4D Electron Microscopy",

abstract = "The lack of understanding and control over losses of charge carriers at the surfaces/interfaces of solar cell materials is the major factor limiting overall device conversion efficiency. This work describes a breakthrough in real-space visualization of charge-carrier dynamics at the atomic surface level of CdTe, a leading direct bandgap semiconductor in commercial thin-film solar cells. We present a fundamentally new understanding of charge-carrier diffusion and carrier trapping of CdTe single crystals using a four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscope (4D-SUEM)—the only instrument of its kind currently in operation. We found that the diffusion of charge carriers at surfaces vary within extreme ranges, from extraordinary to virtually trapped when surface orientation was changed from (110) to (211). The work presented here is a milestone in addressing the device performance bottlenecks stemming from surfaces and a new avenue to create CdTe-based optoelectronic devices.",

author = "Ahmed El-Zohry and Shaheen, {Basamat S.} and Burlakov, {Victor M.} and Jun Yin and Hedhili, {Mohamed N.} and Semen Shikin and Ooi, {Boon S.} and Osman Bakr and Mohammed, {Omar F.}",

note = "KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01 Acknowledgements: The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We thank Dr. Daliang Zhang (KAUST Core Labs) for helping with the HR-TEM analysis and simulations.",

year = "2019",

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day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.chempr.2018.12.020",

language = "English (US)",

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pages = "706--718",

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T1 - Extraordinary Carrier Diffusion on CdTe Surfaces Uncovered by 4D Electron Microscopy

AU - El-Zohry, Ahmed

AU - Shaheen, Basamat S.

AU - Burlakov, Victor M.

AU - Yin, Jun

AU - Hedhili, Mohamed N.

AU - Shikin, Semen

AU - Ooi, Boon S.

AU - Bakr, Osman

AU - Mohammed, Omar F.

N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01 Acknowledgements: The research reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We thank Dr. Daliang Zhang (KAUST Core Labs) for helping with the HR-TEM analysis and simulations.

PY - 2019/2/1

Y1 - 2019/2/1

N2 - The lack of understanding and control over losses of charge carriers at the surfaces/interfaces of solar cell materials is the major factor limiting overall device conversion efficiency. This work describes a breakthrough in real-space visualization of charge-carrier dynamics at the atomic surface level of CdTe, a leading direct bandgap semiconductor in commercial thin-film solar cells. We present a fundamentally new understanding of charge-carrier diffusion and carrier trapping of CdTe single crystals using a four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscope (4D-SUEM)—the only instrument of its kind currently in operation. We found that the diffusion of charge carriers at surfaces vary within extreme ranges, from extraordinary to virtually trapped when surface orientation was changed from (110) to (211). The work presented here is a milestone in addressing the device performance bottlenecks stemming from surfaces and a new avenue to create CdTe-based optoelectronic devices.

AB - The lack of understanding and control over losses of charge carriers at the surfaces/interfaces of solar cell materials is the major factor limiting overall device conversion efficiency. This work describes a breakthrough in real-space visualization of charge-carrier dynamics at the atomic surface level of CdTe, a leading direct bandgap semiconductor in commercial thin-film solar cells. We present a fundamentally new understanding of charge-carrier diffusion and carrier trapping of CdTe single crystals using a four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscope (4D-SUEM)—the only instrument of its kind currently in operation. We found that the diffusion of charge carriers at surfaces vary within extreme ranges, from extraordinary to virtually trapped when surface orientation was changed from (110) to (211). The work presented here is a milestone in addressing the device performance bottlenecks stemming from surfaces and a new avenue to create CdTe-based optoelectronic devices.

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U2 - 10.1016/j.chempr.2018.12.020

DO - 10.1016/j.chempr.2018.12.020

M3 - Article

SN - 2451-9294

VL - 5

SP - 706

EP - 718

JO - Chem

JF - Chem

IS - 3

ER -

Extraordinary Carrier Diffusion on CdTe Surfaces Uncovered by 4D Electron Microscopy

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