Electrical activity of grain boundaries in CdTe solar cell

(a) Quantitative EBIC contrast map from the cross section of a CdTe/CdS solar cell after CdCl₂ and Cu treatment; the intensity scale shows the EBIC contrast number (EBIC current normalized by the electron beam current). Higher current collection is observed along the CdTe random grain boundaries, whereas most [111] S3 grain boundaries exhibit little or no increased current collection; (b) EBSD normal-direction inverse pole figure (color) and quality (intensity) map; (c) Secondary electron image with the [111] S3 and random grain boundaries highlighted in red and black respectively.
The EBIC image collected using electron beam with 3 keV beam energy and 50 pA beam current. Sample cross-section prepared using Ilion⁺ argon milling tool producing a topographically flat surface suitable for EBIC and EBSD analysis.