Next generation thin-film solar cells

Thin-film photovoltaic modules made of materials such as copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) offer the opportunity to reduce solar energy manufacturing costs through the minimization of material usage, as compared to more longstanding PV systems such as crystalline silicon. The market share for thin-film PV is still low but recently has begun to grow rapidly in the United States [1]. This paper gives an introduction to solar cell characterization and solar cells in the first two categories, namely CIGS and CdTe.