Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Thin Film Solar Cells

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Thinfilm photovoltaic cells are battling for supremacy in

thesolarworld by offering significant benefits over traditional
crystalline siliconsolar cells. Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) cells
offer benefits in its absorptivity, having a bandgap energy of
1.45 electron volts (eV) that makes it well suited to converting
electricity into sunlight using a single junction. These single
junction cells have a bandgap energy almost perfectly suited
to thesolarspectrum.

In addition to the absorptivity of CdTe, thin

film photovoltaic cells are easily manufactured through low
cost methods such as sublimation,chemical vapor deposition,
spincoating and electrodeposition. While the commercial
production efficiency of these cells are only 1013 percent
18.7 percent is the record efficiency for lab produced cells[1]
they require fewermaterialsto install and produce, potentially
Cadmium telluride photovoltaic cell structure. Image by reducing balance of system (BoS) costs. GE and First
Alfred Hicks/NREL (Source: Sunshot Initiative, 2012) Solarpanels use much less rack and wire equipment than other
types of solar panels on the market. Reduction of BoS costs
are critical to meeting the Sunshot Initiative goal of making solar photovoltaics cost competitive with
conventional forms of energy by 2020.

CdTeThin Filmcells are manufactured by continuous manufacturing processes in asemiconductormanufacturing

environment. A thin pdopedCdTelayer is grown on a thin ndoped Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) layer. This layer is
then annealed, commonly through an anaerobic cadmium chloride vapor treatmentprocess. A transparent
conductive oxide layer, typically comprised of fluorinedopedtin oxide, is deposited on the CdS nlayer, and a
back electrical contact layer is added to complete the cel. The cells are then sandwiched between a thin
compositeglasssheet and a thin sheet of aluminum backing to make the panels.

According toFirst solar, their continuous manufacturing process uses 98% lesssemiconductormaterial compared
tosiliconsolarcell manufacturing, and produces a finished panel in about 2.5 hours. MostCdTethin films also
have recycling costs built into the panel cost to preserve the rare tellurium resources for future manufacturing.

References

1. Anon. SunShot Initiative: Cadmium Telluride

. [Internet]. 2013 ;2013. Available
from:http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/pv_cdte.html

Author:
Tai Wallace
Evan Taylor
Product Name:

First Solar
GE Energy

Development Stage:

Available, but not Ubiquitous

Key Words:

CdTe
Photovoltaic
 Solar
GE Energy
First Solar
Thin Film

Mechanism:

Passive Nanostructure

Summary:
The function ofCdTethin films in thesolarcell design is to reduce the cost and increase the absorptivity
ofsolar cellsover crystallinesiliconsolar cells.

Function:

Enhanced Energy Production

Reduced Environmental Impact

Material:

Cadmium
Tellurium
Tin
Flourine
Oxygen

Benefit Summary:
CdTethin films offer potential benefits in the energy and resource consumption during the manufacture ofsolar
cells, increasing their life cycle sustainability. These cells are lighter, lower profile, require fewer BoS inputs and
are cheaper to manufacture. While the reduction in material inputs is an added benefit forthin
filmCdTemodules, more R&D is being done to increase the efficiency of commercially producedCdTethin
filmcells. The BoS cost reductions ofCdTethin films makes them attractive to large,utilityscale systems where
the marginal decrease in efficiency and better performance in high heat and adverse conditions outweighs the
reductions in efficiency oversiliconpanels. In distributed applications, every inch of rooftop or backyard real
estate is valuable so a reduction in efficiency makes thin films less attractive to landowners looking to
installsolar. Thinfilm manufacturers such asFirst SolarandGE Energyare making considerable R&D investments
in reducing the thickness ofCdTefrom 3 microns to 200 nm in production runs so as to increase efficiency and
reduce the consumption of telluriuma mineral with very limited known reserves. The current reserves of
tellurium are enough to produce approximately 7 gigawatts (GW) of panels, or about three times whatFirst
Solarplanned to produce last year. Reducing the thickness of theCdTelayer to the ideal thickness of 200nm
would maximize efficiency, extend current tellurium reserves by 15 times and potentially cut the dollarsper
watt manufactured cost ofCdTein half. Once these efficiency benefits are realized,CdTecells may be more
efficient throughout their entire life cycle than other commercially availablesolarcell technologies.[1]

References

1. Citekey http://www.distributedenergy.com/DE/Articles/14949.aspx?format=2 not found

Benefit:

Reduced Cost
High Heat Performance

Risk Summary:
Cadmium toxicity raises some concerns over the use of the metal insolarpanels among other consumer goods.
Acute cadmium exposure, through inhalation or ingestion can cause severe respiratory and gastrointestinal
effects. Chronic exposure has negative skeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and gastrointestinal effects.
While these risks are real, they are very well controlled during the manufacturing process ofCdTecells.
Additionally, studies have concluded that there is little risk of vaporization during fire as well as zero risk of
leeching during the normal lifecycle of these cells. Wellfunded and supported recycling programs also ensure
that the panels will be collected and recycled upon discontinuation of use, even if the manufacturer ceases to
exist. The current recycling programs and advancements in manufacturing process development also quell
environmental concerns over the limited availability of tellurium. Mining concerns of cadmium are also minimal
due to cadmium being a waste product of lead, zinc and copper mining. The collection of cadmium during the
mining process for these other metals insures that the cadmium will not leach into the ground around the mine
tailings.[1][2]

References

1. Citekey http://www.bnl.gov/pv/files/pdf/NCPV_CdTe.pdf not found

2. Citekey http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=6&po=12 not found

Risk Characterization:

Simple

Risk Assessment:

Ecological Risks
Health Risks

Facility:

Energy Systems

Activity:

Energy Production

Substitute:

Exisitng Material

Challenge Area:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions