Patterns in the control of CdTe solar cell performance

Thin-film polycrystalline CdTe solar photovoltaic (PV) cells are the most successful thin-film PV technology in history and currently represent the largest single challenger to the mass-produced wafer silicon products that dominate the market. In 2016 combined sales of single- and multi -crystalline wafer silicon PV were estimated as -300 GW p , while those of CdTe were -3 GW p . Set against the ongoing expansion of silicon PV module manufacture and tumbling production costs, the challenge for thin-film CdTe is to maintain its competitiveness and market share. To this end, the manufacturers and the research community are faced with a continual challenge of decreasing the costs of producing thin-film modules and increasing their photon conversion efficiency (PCE).