Metallic gridlines as front contacts of a cadmium telluride based thin film photovoltaic device

Cadmium telluride based thin film photovoltaic devices are generally described. The device (10) can include a transparent conductive oxide layer (14) on a substrate (12). A plurality of metal gridlines (15) can directly contact the transparent conductive oxide layer (14), and can be oriented in a first direction. A cadmium sulfide layer (18) can be included on the transparent conductive oxide layer (14), and a cadmium telluride layer (20) can be included on the cadmium sulfide layer (18). A plurality of scribe lines (21, 23, 26) can be defined through the thickness of the cadmium sulfide layer (18) and the cadmium telluride layer (20) to define a plurality of photovoltaic cells such that the plurality of scribe lines are oriented in a second direction that intersects with the first direction.