Recent progress and critical issues in thin film polycrystalline solar cells and modules

Thin film CdTe and CuInSe₂ based solar cells have reported efficiencies of over 15% and 17% respectively for small area laboratory devices and over 10% for prototype modules. In the present article, an approach to translate laboratory results to the development of large scale module manufacturing facilities is discussed, and with the development of CulnSe₂ and CdTe thin film polycrystalline module manufacturing are identified. For CulnSe₂ based PV, the analysis and modeling used in the design and development of a continuous, commercial scale deposition system is presented. For CdTe based PV, the issues associated with the back contact are discussed with particular emphasis on the development of a diffused Cu contact