Jet Vapor Deposition of CdTe Films
This project centers on the design of a process and a reactor to
deposit CdTe films by jet vapor deposition (JVD). A picture of the JVD system in
operation isshown at right. Cadmium and tellurium vapors are entrained in a high-temperature gas stream that
impinge in stagnation flow on a relatively cool deposition susceptor. Polycrystalline
CdTe films are deposited at high rates. For cost-effective manufacture of terrestial photovoltaic systems, the
high rate and utilization of JVD make it an attractive option. Chemically reacting flow modeling to support reactor design and control.
Development of chemistry models for the CdTe deposition process Film growth and and process demonstration. This industrial/academic collaboration is managed by Dr. Lawrence Woods of
ITN
Energy Systems. The graduate student working on this project is James Kestner, a Ph. D. candidate in the CSM Materials Science program. The reactor
itself is operated within CSM's Center of Solar and Electronic
Materials. This
collaborative project is
supported by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) through a subcontract with ITN Energy Systems.
Research at CSM has three major aspects:
