Toward Development of CdZnTe and CdMnTe Thin Film‐Based Solar Cells: Optimized Properties and a Comparative Performance Exploration

Abstract Thin‐film solar cells (TFSCs) are garnering attention for their unstoppable growth as a sustainable energy source as well as their innovations and indispensability. TFSCs' efficiency has plateaued, necessitating the development of novel, practical, and inexpensive alternative energy sources. CdTe material lacks the band gap for the top layer. It can still be used as an absorber top layer in tandem photovoltaic cells by forming two new, promising materials, Cd 1– x Zn x Te (CZT) and Cd 1– x Mn x Te (CMT). Consequently, CZT and CMT based PV cells have been explored, and an attempt has been made to provide an alternative to cadmuim telluride. After exploring the physical properties of CZT and CMT thin films, CZT and CMT based photovoltaic cells were fabricated using the vacuum evaporation method. Both devices (with low absorber layer thickness, 1.05 µm) showed a power conversion efficiency of 6.67% and 6.11%, respectively. The depletion layer width and dopant densities of both photovoltaic cells were also determined by capacitance–voltage measurements. The quantum efficiencies were measured to identify the specific losses that are causing the measured short circuit current density to deviate from its ideal value. The reproducibility of the devices was also tested, and it is found to be good with an 8–12% deviation.