Thin-Film Solar Cells Based on the Polycrystalline Compound Semiconductors CIS and CdTe

Abstract

Thin-film photovoltaic modules based on Cu-In-Ga-Se-S (CIS) and CdTe are already being produced with high-quality and solar conversion efficiencies of around 10%, with values up to 14% expected in the near future. The integrated interconnection of single cells into large-area modules of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="E1"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>0.6</mml:mn><mml:mo>×</mml:mo><mml:mn>1.2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math><mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="E2"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mtext>m</mml:mtext><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:math> enables low-cost mass production, so that thin-film modules will soon be able to compete with conventional silicon-wafer-based modules. This contribution provides an overview of the basic technologies for CdTe and CIS modules, the research and development (R&amp;D) issues, production technology and capacities, the module performance in long-term outdoor testing, and their use in installations.