Thin film Solar panel technology, sometimes refered to as 2nd generation (low efficiency) and 3rd generation (higher efficiency) has two main aims:
To be cheaper to produce than silicon cell panels (inspite of being an abundant mineral, purified silicon is expensive).
To be more flexible in it's application, emabling the panels to be used in a wider variety of applications.

Manufacture

As in all cases of thin film panels, the photovoltaic material is not as fragile as thin silicon crystals, the thin film can be printed onto a flexible substrate and can be protected by a flexible transparent layer applied in a similar way.
The solar panels are manufactured by depositing one or more thin layers of the photovoltaic matierial on to the substrate, which can be glass or a roll of of flexible plastic or metal.
Actual methods used to deposit the photovoltaic material vary according to the material used but in some cases may be sprayed or printed on. The finished product, as well as being flexible, is much lighter than silicon crystal cells encased in glass, reducing shipping and mounting costs.
A further advantage of not being encased in glass results from the reduced greenhouse effect and a lower cell temperature leading to increased efficiency at higher ambient temperatures.
Where the thin film is applied to glass, this can be used for windows, providing shading and electrical power.

Materials Used

Photovoltaic materials used in thin film technology include:
Amorphous Silicon - the first thin film to be developed, suffers from low efficiency levels and high plroduction costs.
Cadmium Telluride - has potential problems with the high toxicity of Cadmium and the limted availability (at present) fo Tellurium. This method is in current use, with the thin film encapsulated in glass, which will seal in the Cadmium in the event of a fire.
Copper Indium Gallium Selenide
Photosensitive Dyes