CdTe
Cadmium telluride · CdTe
Cadmium telluride is a stable semiconducting compound widely utilized in the production of high-efficiency solar cells and infrared optical devices.
About Cadmium telluride
Cadmium telluride is a prominent II-VI semiconductor known for its robust thermodynamic stability. As a member of this versatile class of materials, it is highly valued for its favorable electronic properties that facilitate efficient light absorption and charge carrier transport.
This material plays a critical role in modern optoelectronics, serving as a foundational component for high-performance photovoltaic devices. Its ability to be engineered for specific spectral responses makes it a preferred choice for specialized sensors and imaging technologies operating in the infrared range.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Cadmium telluride, aggregated across 6 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of CdTe. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for CdTe, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 0.87 | 0.0000 | -0.467 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.59 | 0.0000 | -23.322 | 5.64 |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.50 | 0.0000 | -0.409 | — |
| — | — | 0.81 | 0.0010 | -0.466 | — |
| P63mc (No. 186) | hexagonal | 0.62 | 0.0026 | -23.319 | 5.64 |
| — | — | 0.80 | 0.0043 | -0.463 | — |
| P63mc (No. 186) | hexagonal | 0.53 | 0.0048 | -0.404 | — |
| P63mc (No. 186) | hexagonal | 0.53 | 0.0048 | -0.404 | — |
| — | — | 0.92 | 0.0061 | -0.461 | — |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 0.62 | 0.0086 | -23.313 | 5.48 |
| P3121 (No. 152) | trigonal | 0.11 | 0.0720 | -0.337 | — |
| P6422 (No. 181) | hexagonal | 0.02 | 0.1077 | -23.214 | 6.15 |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting CdTe.
Applications
Where Cadmium telluride is used.
Patent Landscape
20 patents reference CdTe or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11217720 | Method for depositing a CdTe layer on a substrate | — | — |
| 8404177 | System for recovery of cadmium telluride (CdTe) from system components used in the manufacture of photovoltaic | — | — |
| 6572782 | Process for recycling CdTe/Cds thin film solar cell modules | — | — |
| 10134590 | Methods of growing CdTe-based materials at high rates | — | — |
| 5454902 | Production of clean, well-ordered CdTe surfaces using laser ablation | — | — |
| 9640678 | Method for producing the rear contact layer for CdTe thin-film solar cells | — | — |
| 8187555 | System for cadmium telluride (CdTe) reclamation in a vapor deposition conveyor assembly | — | — |
| 11081616 | Method for producing a CdTe solar cell | — | — |
| 4566918 | Utilizing interdiffusion of sequentially deposited links of HgTe and CdTe | — | — |
| 7211462 | Process for large-scale production of CdTe/CdS thin film solar cells | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cadmium telluride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is CdTe?
Cadmium telluride is a stable semiconducting compound widely utilized in the production of high-efficiency solar cells and infrared optical devices.
What is CdTe used for?
What is the band gap of CdTe?
Is CdTe a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is CdTe thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of CdTe?
What is the density of CdTe?
How many polymorphs of CdTe are known?
How is CdTe synthesized?
What elements does CdTe contain?
Where does the data for CdTe come from?
How It Compares
Within the ii-vi semiconductors class.
Within the II-VI semiconductor family, CdTe is distinguished by its superior light-harvesting capabilities compared to its sibling CdS, making it a more effective absorber layer in thin-film solar cell architectures.
Related Compounds
Other II-VI Semiconductors in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
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