Abstract
An analysis of the use of semiconductor solar cells based on thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) in power engineering is carried out. It is shown that the advantages of thin-film technology and CdTe itself as a direct-gap semiconductor open up the prospect of large-scale production of competitive CdTe solar modules. The physical and technical problems of increasing the efficiency of CdS/CdTe heterostructure solar cells, which are significantly inferior to the theoretically possible value in mass production, are discussed. The state of CdTe thin-film solar cells, which make CdTe a suitable material for ground-based photoelectric conversion of solar energy, the historical development of the CdTe compound, the application of CdTe thin films, the main methods and strategies of device production, device analysis and fundamental problems related to the future development of thin-film modules based on cadmium telluride.
Highlights
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas, which until now have met the demand for energy around the world, are being used less and less due to the depletion of reserves
Even before 2010, thin-film elements based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) had an efficiency factor (EF) that did not exceed 17%, and over the previous 7 years, the EF increased to 22.5% [8]
Cells obtained by evaporation of n-type CdS films onto single-crystal p-type CdTe were first obtained by Muller et al in the mid-1960s [28], the conversion efficiency was less than 5%
Summary
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas, which until now have met the demand for energy around the world, are being used less and less due to the depletion of reserves. Their extraction and consumption has an irreversible effect on environmental conditions, which leads to the threat of catastrophic climate change on Earth [1]. The most promising in this direction is the development of solar energy, an inexhaustible source of thermal and photovoltaic energy. The most common photovoltaic modules, the main advantage of which is the use of an unlimited and environmentally friendly source of solar energy. Barrier structure that do not require complex and expensive equipment are an important advantage of CdTe-based solar cell technology [2,9,10]
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