CdTe Thin-Film Solar Cell Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing spiked once, in 2018, at 16 records, then dropped to near-zero by 2022 and has stayed flat since — a burst rather than a sustained wave.
- Claim density sits almost entirely in H01L, with 25 of 26 records classified there against a single H10F record, leaving photovoltaic-specific device claims thin.
- The most-cited family is a single doped-layer invention, filed in parallel across US and WO documents and citing patterns concentrate on that one technical route.
A narrow, concentrated filing record
CdTe thin-film solar cell passivation is a small, tightly scoped patent set: 26 published families since 2015 against a search built around back surface passivation, interface passivation layers, and defect passivation in cadmium telluride devices. The record is dominated by a burst of activity in a single year rather than steady annual growth, which matters for anyone assessing whether the space is still actively contested or has already settled around a handful of core claims. Nearly all of the filing activity classifies under general semiconductor device claims (H01L), not under the newer photovoltaic-specific subclass H10F, which suggests passivation approaches here were drafted as semiconductor processing inventions first and solar-specific inventions second.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the flat recent-year counts understate whatever has been filed since 2024 but not yet published. Reading the trend line requires discounting the last one to two years accordingly, rather than treating the drop-off as a definitive signal that interest has ended.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 26-family dataset: how filing activity moved year over year, and where those filings sit in the patent classification system.
A single peak year, then a fast decline
Filings were at zero in 2017, jumped to a peak of 16 in 2018, and had fallen to just 1 by the 2022 midpoint. That shape reads as one wave of related filings — likely a small number of applicants pursuing continuations and multi-jurisdiction copies of the same core inventions — rather than a technology field with broad, ongoing entry.
Concentrated almost entirely in one IPC subclass
H01L (semiconductor devices generally) accounts for 25 of 26 records; H10F (the IPC subclass specific to photovoltaic and light-sensitive devices) accounts for just 1. Applicants have been claiming passivation structures as general semiconductor inventions, which is worth checking against for freedom-to-operate work that assumes photovoltaic-specific classification would catch the relevant art.
Shares are the percentage of the 26 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on CdTe Thin-Film Solar Cell Passivation Layer with Eureka
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Try EurekaThe most-cited records concentrate on one doped-layer approach
Doping and passivation for high efficiency solar cells
The present disclosure relates to thin-film solar cells with improved efficiency and methods for producing thin-film solar cells having increased efficiency. In certain embodiments, thin-film solar cells having an efficiency of over 21%, over 20%, over 19%, over 15%, over 10%, etc. has been obtained using the methods of the disclosure. In certain aspects, the methods of the disclosure use passivation, passivating oxides, and/or doping treatments in increase the efficiency of the thin-film solar cells; e.g., CdTe-based thin-film solar cells.Filed by Colorado State University Research Foundation, published 2022-10-20 as US20220336687A1.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US11158749B2 | Doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers and methods of making | 10 |
| 2 | US20210143288A1 | Doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers and methods of making | 8 |
| 3 | WO2018156698A1 | Doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers and methods of making | 8 |
| 4 | US11791427B2 | Doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers and methods of making | 3 |
| 5 | US20220336687A1 | Doping and passivation for high efficiency solar cells | 2 |
| 6 | US11189748B2 | PERC-like contact to CdTe solar cells | 2 |
| 7 | US20220045225A1 | Doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers and methods of making | 1 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older, earlier-published documents; they are not a measure of current commercial significance.
Publication numbers are shown where the record carries one (7 of 7 rows); clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three observations that follow directly from the filing and citation data, useful for scoping where further diligence is worth the time.
One concentrated filing wave, not sustained growth
The dataset moves from zero filings in 2017 to 16 in 2018, then drops to a single filing by the 2022 midpoint. That pattern is consistent with a small number of applicants filing a cluster of related applications and continuations around the same core inventions, rather than a broadening field.
Passivation claims sit inside general semiconductor classification
Only one record classifies under H10F, the IPC subclass built specifically for photovoltaic devices. Most of the field's passivation claims were drafted and filed as semiconductor device art, a detail that matters for anyone scoping searches by IPC subclass alone.
Citation influence concentrates on one doped-layer family
The most-cited record, US11158749B2, and its related US, WO and continuation filings around 'doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers' account for the bulk of citation activity in this corpus. Newer filings addressing passivation and doping together, such as US20220336687A1, have not yet accumulated comparable citation counts.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to cdte thin-film solar cell passivation layer, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the passivation claims
Filing in this space is limited to a small number of named assignees, with recent-year activity flat across the tracked organisations.
First Solar
First Solar's filings sit within the earlier concentration of activity in this dataset; recent-year filing counts for the assignee are at zero, consistent with the overall flat trend after 2018.
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo appears among the named assignees in this corpus, with no filings recorded in the latest tracked year, again in line with the broader slowdown after the 2018 peak.
Colorado State University Research Foundation
Colorado State University Research Foundation holds the representative record in this dataset, a 2022-published application on doping and passivation for high-efficiency CdTe-based cells, though its recent-year filing count is also at zero.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| First Solar | 0 | — |
| University of Toledo | 0 | — |
| Colorado State University Research Foundation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The filing and citation patterns above point to a narrow, potentially reopening field. These next steps help turn the landscape into a working decision.
Check freedom-to-operate against H01L classification
Because 25 of 26 records classify as general semiconductor devices rather than photovoltaic-specific art, an FTO search limited to H10F would miss most of the relevant claims. Run searches across both subclasses before concluding a route is clear.
Run a classification-aware search in Patsnap EurekaWatch for a second filing wave post-2024
Publication lag means the flat 2022–2026 trend likely understates real filing activity in the most recent two years. Re-check this dataset periodically as later applications publish.
Set up monitoring in Patsnap EurekaScope the under-claimed passivation chemistries
Grain-boundary defect passivation and atomic layer deposition oxide approaches show thinner filing density than the dominant doped-layer claims, worth a deeper prior-art check before committing R&D resources.
Explore white space in Patsnap EurekaCommon questions about CdTe passivation patents
This dataset identifies 26 published patent families matching back surface passivation, interface passivation, and defect passivation claims in CdTe thin-film solar cells, covering 2015 through mid-2026. That is a small, tightly scoped set compared with broader thin-film photovoltaics searches, reflecting how specific the passivation claim language is. Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, the true count for the most recent one to two years will be higher once pending applications publish.
Named assignees in this corpus include First Solar, the University of Toledo, and Colorado State University Research Foundation, among others captured in the full ranking table. Recent-year filing momentum for all three tracked assignees sits at zero, consistent with the overall filing trend flattening out after its 2018 peak. No single assignee dominates the dataset the way concentration patterns look in larger photovoltaic patent fields.
The dataset shows zero filings in 2017, a jump to 16 in 2018, and a drop to a single filing by the 2022 midpoint, a shape typical of a cluster of related applications and continuations filed around the same core inventions rather than sustained field growth. It is possible that the core technical approaches were claimed early and thoroughly, reducing the incentive for follow-on filings. Readers should treat the post-2018 decline cautiously, since recent years are also undercounted due to publication lag.
US20220336687A1, assigned to Colorado State University Research Foundation, covers methods for producing CdTe-based thin-film solar cells with improved efficiency using passivation, passivating oxides, and doping treatments, with disclosed efficiencies reported above several thresholds including over 20% and over 21%. Anyone developing a combined doping-and-passivation process for CdTe cells should review this filing's specific claim scope rather than assume the abstract's efficiency figures define the boundary. It sits alongside a separate, more heavily cited family on doped photovoltaic semiconductor layers, so a full clearance check needs to consider both directions of claim coverage.
The classification data shows 25 of 26 records sit under the general semiconductor device subclass H01L, with only one under the photovoltaic-specific H10F, suggesting passivation-specific device claims tailored to solar architecture are comparatively thin. Sub-areas such as grain-boundary defect passivation chemistries, atomic layer deposition passivation oxides, and back-contact interface passivation stacks show less concentrated filing activity than the dominant doped-layer claims. These are reasonable starting points for a deeper prior-art search before committing R&D or filing resources.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.