Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Solar Panels

Cadmium telluride cdte is the most common type of thin film solar cell in production.

Cadmium telluride photovoltaic solar panels. 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. Normally thin film cells have quite a bit lower efficiency than c si cells but the latest products from first solar have a 14. Cadmium telluride cdte is the most commercially successful thin film photovoltaic technology. One main energy producing layer made from the compound cadmium telluride and surrounding layers.

Cadmium telluride solar cells. New cadmium telluride solar panels are now available for applications on tall buildings in urban environments. The question of what happens when indictments of current energy sources are also levied towards alternative sources is an important one. There are two main types of thin film pv semiconductors on the market today.

It is usually sandwiched with cadmium sulfide to form a p n junction solar pv cell. Typically cdte pv cells use a n i p structure. Cadmium telluride is a direct bandgap material with bandgap energy of about 1 45 defined ev which is well matched to the solar spectrum and nearly optimal for converting sunlight into electricity using a single junction. The united states is the leader in cadmium telluride cdte photovoltaic pv manufacturing and nrel has been at the forefront of research and development in this area.

Their efficiency ranges from 15 3 to 18 2 with 110 w to 450 w of power output. Cadmium telluride cdte is a stable crystalline compound formed from cadmium and tellurium. Development of cdte as a solar cell material dates back to the early 1980s when 10 efficient devices were demonstrated. Cadmium telluride cdte and copper indium gallium diselenide cigs.

The benefits of cdte thin film solar cells include. 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 describes a photovoltaic pv technology that is based on the use of cadmium telluride in a thin semiconductor layer designed to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. Advancements in solar technology and the rapidly expanding landscape of photovoltaic arrays are raising concerns about environmental toxicity namely the use of cadmium telluride cdte in most photovoltaic pv solar cells.

Cdte thin film panels are made from several thin layers. It is mainly used as the semiconducting material in cadmium telluride photovoltaics and an infrared optical window. A thin film solar cell is made by depositing one or more thin layers of pv material on a supporting material such as glass plastic or metal.