Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass"
This is data associated with the publication "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass" by Aesha P. Patel, Ryan Muzzio, Matthew R. Young, Robert Morrissey, Suresh Chaulagain, B. Edward Sartor, Prabodika N. Kaluarachchi, Christian Velez, Joshua A. Brown, Joel N. Duenow, Stephen Glynn, Michael J. Heben, Zhaoning Song, Nikolas J. Podraza, Adam B. Phillips, Randy J. Ellingson, Matthew O. Reese. All data associated with each figure in the manuscript and supplementary should be available in this dataset. A readme file is also included to provide some guidance.Abstract: Deployment of photovoltaics in space requires devices that combine high-efficiency, low areal mass, and resilience to harsh environments. Historically, high-efficiency multijunction III?V materials have dominated space power systems; however, their high cost and limited manufacturing throughput motivate the exploration of scalable alternatives. While CdTe-based thin-film photovoltaics offer an attractive option, their performance on non-conventional substrates can suffer from front-contact instability under higher-temperature processing. Here, the role of front-contact chemistry in limiting cell performance is investigated using CdTe-based devices fabricated on 150 ?m thick Ceria-doped space-qualified 0214 Corning glass. A matrix of four transparent conducting oxides (TCOs: CTO, AZO, ITO, IZO) combined with two n-type emitters (MZO, IGO) reveals chemical stability at the front interface?rather than absorber composition alone?governs recombination losses, voltage deficits, and device reproducibility. Chemically stable front-contact combinations suppress elemental diffusion and interfacial degradation, resulting in significantly improved carrier lifetimes and junction quality. These insights are validated through record-certified Cd(Se,Te) cell efficiencies of 18.4% under AM1.5G and 16.2% under AM0 illumination on ultra-thin glass. Beyond CdTe, this work provides a general framework for the rational selection of TCO/emitter interfaces in superstrate thin-film photovoltaics, including emerging technologies like metal halide perovskites, while enabling high-efficiency, lightweight photovoltaics for space applications.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - This is data associated with the publication "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass" by Aesha P. Patel, Ryan Muzzio, Matthew R. Young, Robert Morrissey, Suresh Chaulagain, B. Edward Sartor, Prabodika N. Kaluarachchi, Christian Velez, Joshua A. Brown, Joel N. Duenow, Stephen Glynn, Michael J. Heben, Zhaoning Song, Nikolas J. Podraza, Adam B. Phillips, Randy J. Ellingson, Matthew O. Reese. All data associated with each figure in the manuscript and supplementary should be available in this dataset. A readme file is also included to provide some guidance.Abstract: Deployment of photovoltaics in space requires devices that combine high-efficiency, low areal mass, and resilience to harsh environments. Historically, high-efficiency multijunction III–V materials have dominated space power systems; however, their high cost and limited manufacturing throughput motivate the exploration of scalable alternatives. While CdTe-based thin-film photovoltaics offer an attractive option, their performance on non-conventional substrates can suffer from front-contact instability under higher-temperature processing. Here, the role of front-contact chemistry in limiting cell performance is investigated using CdTe-based devices fabricated on 150 μm thick Ceria-doped space-qualified 0214 Corning glass. A matrix of four transparent conducting oxides (TCOs: CTO, AZO, ITO, IZO) combined with two n-type emitters (MZO, IGO) reveals chemical stability at the front interface—rather than absorber composition alone—governs recombination losses, voltage deficits, and device reproducibility. Chemically stable front-contact combinations suppress elemental diffusion and interfacial degradation, resulting in significantly improved carrier lifetimes and junction quality. These insights are validated through record-certified Cd(Se,Te) cell efficiencies of 18.4% under AM1.5G and 16.2% under AM0 illumination on ultra-thin glass. Beyond CdTe, this work provides a general framework for the rational selection of TCO/emitter interfaces in superstrate thin-film photovoltaics, including emerging technologies like metal halide perovskites, while enabling high-efficiency, lightweight photovoltaics for space applications.
AU - Patel, Aesha
A2 - Muzzio, Ryan
A3 - Young, Matt
A4 - Morrissey, Robert
A5 - Chaulagain, Suresh
A6 - Sartor, Ed
A7 - Kaluarachchi, Prabodika
A8 - Velez, Christian
A9 - Brown, Josh
A10 - Duenow, Joel
A11 - Glynn, Stephen
A12 - Heben, Michael
A13 - Song, Zhaoning
A14 - Podraza, Nikolas
A15 - Philips, Adam
A16 - Ellingson, Randy
A17 - Reese, Matthew
DB - Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - PV
KW - CdTe
KW - photovoltaics
KW - space power
KW - Thin film
KW - transparent conducting oxides
KW - TCO
KW - solar cell
LA - English
DA - 2026/05/28
PY - 2026
PB - National Laboratory of the Rockies
T1 - Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass"
UR - https://data.openei.org/submissions/8700
ER -
Patel, Aesha, et al. Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass". National Laboratory of the Rockies, 28 May, 2026, NREL. https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/327.
Patel, A., Muzzio, R., Young, M., Morrissey, R., Chaulagain, S., Sartor, E., Kaluarachchi, P., Velez, C., Brown, J., Duenow, J., Glynn, S., Heben, M., Song, Z., Podraza, N., Philips, A., Ellingson, R., & Reese, M. (2026). Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass". [Data set]. NREL. National Laboratory of the Rockies. https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/327
Patel, Aesha, Ryan Muzzio, Matt Young, Robert Morrissey, Suresh Chaulagain, Ed Sartor, Prabodika Kaluarachchi, Christian Velez, Josh Brown, Joel Duenow, Stephen Glynn, Michael Heben, Zhaoning Song, Nikolas Podraza, Adam Philips, Randy Ellingson, and Matthew Reese. Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass". National Laboratory of the Rockies, May, 28, 2026. Distributed by NREL. https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/327
@misc{OEDI_Dataset_8700,
title = {Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass"},
author = {Patel, Aesha and Muzzio, Ryan and Young, Matt and Morrissey, Robert and Chaulagain, Suresh and Sartor, Ed and Kaluarachchi, Prabodika and Velez, Christian and Brown, Josh and Duenow, Joel and Glynn, Stephen and Heben, Michael and Song, Zhaoning and Podraza, Nikolas and Philips, Adam and Ellingson, Randy and Reese, Matthew},
abstractNote = {This is data associated with the publication "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass" by Aesha P. Patel, Ryan Muzzio, Matthew R. Young, Robert Morrissey, Suresh Chaulagain, B. Edward Sartor, Prabodika N. Kaluarachchi, Christian Velez, Joshua A. Brown, Joel N. Duenow, Stephen Glynn, Michael J. Heben, Zhaoning Song, Nikolas J. Podraza, Adam B. Phillips, Randy J. Ellingson, Matthew O. Reese. \ All data associated with each figure in the manuscript and supplementary should be available in this dataset. \ A readme file is also included to provide some guidance.Abstract:\ Deployment of photovoltaics in space requires devices that combine high-efficiency, low areal mass, and resilience to harsh environments. Historically, high-efficiency multijunction III?V materials have dominated space power systems; however, their high cost and limited manufacturing throughput motivate the exploration of scalable alternatives. While CdTe-based thin-film photovoltaics offer an attractive option, their performance on non-conventional substrates can suffer from front-contact instability under higher-temperature processing. Here, the role of front-contact chemistry in limiting cell performance is investigated using CdTe-based devices fabricated on\ 150 ?m thick Ceria-doped space-qualified 0214 Corning glass. A matrix of four transparent conducting oxides (TCOs: CTO, AZO, ITO, IZO) combined with two n-type emitters (MZO, IGO) reveals chemical stability at the front interface?rather than absorber composition alone?governs recombination losses, voltage deficits, and device reproducibility. Chemically stable front-contact combinations suppress elemental diffusion and interfacial degradation, resulting in significantly improved carrier lifetimes and junction quality. These insights are validated through record-certified Cd(Se,Te) cell efficiencies of 18.4\% under AM1.5G and 16.2\% under AM0 illumination on ultra-thin glass. Beyond CdTe, this work provides a general framework for the rational selection of TCO/emitter interfaces in superstrate thin-film photovoltaics, including emerging technologies like metal halide perovskites, while enabling high-efficiency, lightweight photovoltaics for space applications.\ },
url = {https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/327},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {NREL, National Laboratory of the Rockies, https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/327},
note = {Accessed: 2026-10-24}
}
Details
Data from May 28, 2026
Last updated May 28, 2026
Submitted May 28, 2026
Organization
National Laboratory of the Rockies
Contact
Matthew Reese
Authors
Original Source
https://data.nlr.gov/submissions/327Research Areas
Keywords
PV, CdTe, photovoltaics, space power, Thin film, transparent conducting oxides, TCO, solar cellDOE Project Details
Project Name CdTe Photovoltaics Accelerator and Consortium Management, CdTe PV Research and Development Core Project
Project Number 37989, 38257, 52778, and DE-EE0008974
