The atmospheric pressure CSS method has been developed as a reproducible and efficient process. Thin film CdTe grown under atmospheric pressure has a rough surface morphology. The density of carbon black powder in the graphite carbon paste for screen printing is a key factor in reducing the series resistance of the device with rough surface CdTe. Using graphite carbon paste with 7wt% carbon black powder has resulted in cells with a relatively low back contact resistance. A highly efficient large-area CdS/CdTe solar cell (11.0%, 5327 cm(2)) sub-module has been fabricated using the new technique. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.