CdTe-Based Thin Film Solar Cells: Past, Present and Future

Alessandro Romeo and Elisa Artegiani
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Alessandro Romeo: Laboratory for Photovoltaics and Solid-State Physics (LAPS), Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Ca’ Vignal 1, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy
Elisa Artegiani: Laboratory for Photovoltaics and Solid-State Physics (LAPS), Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Ca’ Vignal 1, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-24

Abstract: CdTe is a very robust and chemically stable material and for this reason its related solar cell thin film photovoltaic technology is now the only thin film technology in the first 10 top producers in the world. CdTe has an optimum band gap for the Schockley-Queisser limit and could deliver very high efficiencies as single junction device of more than 32%, with an open circuit voltage of 1 V and a short circuit current density exceeding 30 mA/cm 2 . CdTe solar cells were introduced at the beginning of the 70s and they have been studied and implemented particularly in the last 30 years. The strong improvement in efficiency in the last 5 years was obtained by a new redesign of the CdTe solar cell device reaching a single solar cell efficiency of 22.1% and a module efficiency of 19%. In this paper we describe the fabrication process following the history of the solar cell as it was developed in the early years up to the latest development and changes. Moreover the paper also presents future possible alternative absorbers and discusses the only apparently controversial environmental impacts of this fantastic technology.

Keywords: solar cells; thin films; CdTe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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