Possible combinations of Group-( XI, XIII, XVI) elements in the periodic table that yield a compound showing the photovoltaic effect: Cu, Ag, Au – Al, Ga, In – S, Se, Te.Ī copper indium gallium selenide solar cell or CIGS cell uses an absorber made of copper, indium, gallium, selenide (CIGS), while gallium-free variants of the semiconductor material are abbreviated CIS. The rarity of tellurium-of which telluride is the anionic form-is comparable to that of platinum in the earth's crust and contributes significantly to the module's cost. The usage of rare materials may also become a limiting factor to the industrial scalability of CdTe thin film technology. Īlthough the toxicity of cadmium may not be that much of an issue and environmental concerns completely resolved with the recycling of CdTe modules at the end of their life time, there are still uncertainties and the public opinion is skeptical towards this technology. : 31 A prominent manufacturer is the US-company First Solar based in Tempe, Arizona, that produces CdTe-panels with an efficiency of about 18 percent. : 24–25 Also, CdTe has the lowest Energy payback time of all mass-produced PV technologies, and can be as short as eight months in favorable locations. The cell's lab efficiency has also increased significantly in recent years and is on a par with CIGS thin film and close to the efficiency of multi-crystalline silicon as of 2013. With about 5 percent of worldwide PV production, it accounts for more than half of the thin film market. Main article: Cadmium telluride photovoltaicsĬadmium telluride (CdTe) is the predominant thin film technology. Other thin-film technologies that are still in an early stage of ongoing research or with limited commercial availability are often classified as emerging or third generation photovoltaic cells and include organic, dye-sensitized, as well as quantum dot, copper zinc tin sulfide, nanocrystal, micromorph, and perovskite solar cells. Despite these enhancements, the market-share of thin-film never reached more than 20 percent in the last two decades and has been declining in recent years to about 9 percent of worldwide photovoltaic installations in 2013. : 23, 24 Accelerated life testing of thin film modules under laboratory conditions measured a somewhat faster degradation compared to conventional PV, while a lifetime of 20 years or more is generally expected. The lab cell efficiency for CdTe and CIGS is now beyond 21 percent, outperforming multicrystalline silicon, the dominant material currently used in most solar PV systems. However, it has significantly improved over the years. Thin-film technology has always been cheaper but less efficient than conventional c-Si technology. Other commercial applications use rigid thin film solar panels (interleaved between two panes of glass) in some of the world's largest photovoltaic power stations. It is used in building-integrated photovoltaics and as semi- transparent, photovoltaic glazing material that can be laminated onto windows. This allows thin film cells to be flexible, and lower in weight.

Thin-film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies, including cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and amorphous thin-film silicon (a-Si, TF-Si).įilm thickness varies from a few nanometers ( nm) to tens of micrometers ( µm), much thinner than thin-film's rival technology, the conventional, first-generation crystalline silicon solar cell (c-Si), that uses wafers of up to 200 µm thick. Bottom: thin-film laminates on rooftopsĪ thin-film solar cell is a second generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin film (TF) of photovoltaic material on a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal.Middle: CIGS solar cell on a flexible plastic backing and rigid CdTe panels mounted on a supporting structure.Top: thin-film silicon laminates being installed onto a roof.Thin-film solar cells, a second generation of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells:

Three thin film solarcell