Cadmium Telluride Thin Film Solar Panels
As with most thin film solar technologies carrier collection is accomplished by drift or field assisted.
Cadmium telluride thin film solar panels. Thin film solar panels and toxicity cadmium telluride. Solar photovoltaic technology that is based on cadmium is considered as a thin film technology due to its active layers which are just a few microns thick or about a 10 diameter of human hair. 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. 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 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. Cdte thin film panels are made from several thin layers. One main energy producing layer made from the compound cadmium telluride and surrounding layers for electricity conduction and collection. The company solyndra now.
Copper indium gallium selenide cigs. Cadmium telluride pv is the only thin film technology with lower costs than conventional solar cells made of crystalline silicon in multi kilowatt systems. Cigs is another mainstream thin film technology. First solar is an american company that works in the cadmium telluride solar panel manufacturing space.
Cadmium telluride solar cells use low cost manufacturing technology to produce low cost cells. On a lifecycle basis cdte pv has the smallest carbon footprint lowest water use and shortest energy payback time of any current photo voltai.