Progress in Polycrystalline Thin Film CdTe Solar Cells Routray Chinmay, Panda Amarendra, Singh Sasmita P., Singh Udai P.* School of Electronics Engineering, KIIT University, Campus-3, Patia, Bhubaneswar-751024, Orissa *E-mail: singhup@kiit.ac.in
Online published on 10 August, 2015. Abstract CdTe based solar cell is one of the leading thin film technology today. Polycrystalline thin film CdTe continues to be a leading material for the development of cost effective and reliable photovoltaics. Thin film CdTe solar cells and modules are typically heterojunctions with CdS being the n-type partner, or window layer. The preferred configuration for CdTe solar cells is the superstrate structure. Due to its basic optical electronic, and chemical properties, CdTe has become the base material for high-efficiency, low-cost thin film solar cells using robust, high throughput manufacturing techniques. CdTe compound semiconductors are important for terrestrial applications because of their high efficiency, long-term stable performance and potential for low-cost production. Because of the high absorption coefficient (∼10−5 cm−1) a thin layer of ∼2 μm is sufficient to absorb the useful part of the spectrum. Highest record efficiencies 16.5% has been achieved. The present paper review the progress made in the CdTe based solar cells Top Keywords Thin film, photovoltaics, cadmium, telluride, solar cells. Top |