A thin-film solar panel is a new-gen solar cell technology that comprised substrates of glass, plastic and metal. The layers can be up to 300 - 350 times smaller than the layers of standard silicon panels. It is made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin-film (TF) of photovoltaic material on it. Film thickness varies from a few nano-meters (nm) to tens of micrometers (µm), that allows thin-film cells to be flexible, and lower in weight. 

Applications:

• Used as building-integrated photovoltaic.
• Used as semi-transparent, photovoltaic glazing material that can be laminated onto windows.
• They can be used in caravan, RV, tent & military purposes.
• They can be used in forest travelers or inhabitants of the areas as well.
• They can be used to power traffic and street lights.

Advantage:

• Lightweight & flexible
• Least price
• Highly portable
• Good performance at high ambient temperature

Disadvantage:

• Having least efficiency (6-10 percent)
• The thin-film cells have a shorter lifetime
• Higher space requirement, to achieve the same performance as the crystalline