PROCESSING HIGH EFFICIENCY CdTe SOLAR CELLS

Abstract

High efficiency solar cells can be fabricated on CdTe films prepared by a wide variety of deposition techniques. Most of these methods yield CdTe layers that need to be subjected to post-deposition treatments before they can be utilized in high efficiency device fabrication. In some cases these treatments can be made an integral part of the film growth process so that a post-deposition step is not needed. This paper discusses the procedures that are commonly used in high efficiency CdTe solar cell fabrication and reports on a newly emerging technique that holds the promise of becoming a high-throughput industrial process for thin film photovoltaic module production.

KEY WORDS:

• Photovoltaics
• Thin film solar cells
• CdTe film deposition