cadmium telluride (photovoltaics) (CdTe)
Cadmium telluride (CaTe) is an amorphous semiconductor material used in photovoltaics. It is a solid compound between the highly toxic heavy metal cadmium and the rare earth tellurium.
Cadmium telluride is used instead of silicon( Si) for thin-film solar cells and offers several advantages over silicon, which is also used for solar cells. For example, the layer in which light conversion takes place can be made only a few micrometers thin with cadmium telluride.
In addition, cadmium telluride has better light conversion efficiency and generates photovoltage even at low light irradiation. In addition, it can be vapor-deposited onto glass or stainless steel foil and is inexpensive to produce.
Cadmium telluride belongs to the II- VI compound semiconductors and has a band gap of 1.45 electron volts( eV).