Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Panel

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.

Cadmium telluride thin film solar panel.

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 with most thin film solar technologies carrier collection is accomplished by drift or field assisted. 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. An issue with using thin film panels with a cdte is that they contain a large amount of cadmium which is a toxic element.

Cadmium telluride pv is the only thin film technology with lower costs than conventional solar cells made of crystalline silicon in multi kilowatt systems. 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. 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 is the most common type of thin film solar cell in production.

Cadmium telluride solar cells use low cost manufacturing technology to produce low cost cells. 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. This structure is similar to the heterojunction in cigs cells. One main energy producing layer made from the compound cadmium telluride and surrounding layers for electricity conduction and collection.

There are four types of substrates used including. First solar a us based manufacturer makes attractive pv modules that can be used in home applications. This type of substrate is the most used with manufacturing thin film solar panels and holds 50 percent of market share. How are thin solar panels made.

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.