Thin Film Solar Cell – Definition, Glossary, Details – Solar Mango

A thin-film solar cell is a solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin film (TF) of photo voltaic material on a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. A typical crystalline solar cell is made from silicon and contains an active semiconductor material layer that is about 300-micrometers (micrometer is a millionth of a meter) thick. A thin film cell uses just about 3% of the semiconductor material that a crystalline solar cell does. In addition to amorphous silicon, thin film solar cells of today also made from CdTe (Cadmium Telluride), CIGS (Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide) or CIS (Copper-Indium-Selenide). The thin film efficiency lies between in the range 7-13 %. High temperatures and shading have less impact on solar panel performance of thin film.

India Renewable Energy Expert