Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Panel

Solar photovoltaic technology that is based on cadmium is considered as a thin film technology due to its active layers which are just a few microns thick or about a 10 diameter of human hair.

Cadmium telluride thin film solar panel.

Cadmium telluride cdte is the most common type of thin film solar cell in production. How are thin solar panels made. The most common cdte solar cells consist of a simple p n heterojunction structure containing a p doped cdte layer matched with an n doped cadmium sulfide cds layer which acts as a window layer. First solar a us based manufacturer makes attractive pv modules that can be used in home applications.

An issue with using thin film panels with a cdte is that they contain a large amount of cadmium which is a toxic element. This type of substrate is the most used with manufacturing thin film solar panels and holds 50 percent of market share. Normally thin film cells have quite a bit lower efficiency than c si cells but the latest products from first solar have a 14 efficiency which is pretty close to polycrystalline cells. Cadmium telluride cdte is a stable crystalline compound formed from cadmium and tellurium which is used for manufacturing cdte thin film solar panels in whole lifespan cdte pv has the smallest carbon footprint lowest water use and shortest energy payback time then conventional solar technologies the usage of rare materials may become a limiting factor to the industrial scalability of cdte technology in the mid term future.

Cdte thin film panels are made from several thin layers. This structure is similar to the heterojunction in cigs cells. On a lifecycle basis cdte pv has the smallest carbon footprint lowest water use and shortest energy payback time of any current photo voltai. Cadmium telluride cdte photovoltaics or also called cadmium telluride solar cell is a kind of photovoltaic pv technology that can produce electricity from sunlight using a thin film of compound cadmium telluride to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity.

There are four types of substrates used including. Cadmium telluride solar cells use low cost manufacturing technology to produce low cost cells. As with most thin film solar technologies carrier collection is accomplished by drift or field assisted. Cadmium telluride photovoltaics describes a photovoltaic technology that is based on the use of cadmium telluride in a thin semiconductor layer designed to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity.

As the second most common photovoltaic technology on the market behind traditional crystalline silicon cadmium telluride cdte panels are already a viable thin film solar panel solution.