13% CdS/CdTe Solar Cell Using a Nanocomposite $(\mathrm{CuS})_{x}(\mathrm{ZnS})_{1-x}$ Thin Film Hole Transport Layer

We report the properties of the earth-abundant ptype transparent conducting nanocomposite thin film (CuS)
_x
(ZnS)
_1-x
, deposited by chemical bath deposition. Our films of 55 nm thickness show transparency > 65% over the visible region, and compact grains of size <; 10 nm. We investigate the photovoltaic performance of CdTe solar cells using (CuS)
_x
(ZnS)
_1-x
as a back-contact interface layer. Our best device exhibits a FF value of 73 %, VOC of 816 mV, and efficiency of 13.0 % when using a nanocomposite p-type transparent conductor based on Cu, Zn, and S as an interface layer before the back-contact metallization layer.