Why Is Tellurium Used In Solar Panels

Tellurium is used as a coloring agent in ceramics.

Why is tellurium used in solar panels.

Commercially the primary use of tellurium is copper tellurium copper and steel alloys where it improves machinability. Prevent sulfuric acid corrosion. Together tellurium is critical to efficient thin film photovoltaic cells that the photovoltaic and thermoelectric applications account for more than two thirds of global tellurium consumption. A layer of cadmium telluride just one thousandth of a millimetre thick will absorb around 90 of the light that hits it.

Cadmium telluride is one of the second generation thin film solar cell technologies. Cadmium telluride cdte is used as a thin film in solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. Tellurium is considered a technology critical element. Cadmium telluride however has an advantage over silicon because it can absorb the.

Tellurium is also used in the electronics industry for example with cadmium and mercury to form photosensitive semiconductors. Tellurium alloyed with cadmium forms the compound cadmium telluride cdte a highly conductive compound when exposed to sunlight. Cadmium telluride photovoltaics describes a photovoltaic technology that is based on the use of cadmium telluride in a thin semiconductor layer designed to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. Tellurium is used in copying machines.

On a lifecycle basis cdte pv has the smallest carbon footprint lowest water use and shortest energy payback time of any current photo voltai. Applications in cdte solar panels and cadmium telluride semiconductors also consume a considerable portion of tellurium production. Poplawsky noted that solar panels typically use silicon as the material for converting sunlight into electricity. Of all the solar technologies cdte solar panels are the most.

It s far better at absorbing light than silicon on which most solar power is currently based and as a result its absorbing layer doesn t need to be as thick.