The apparent carrier density profile measured by the capacitance-voltage technique in CdTe thin-film solar cells frequently displays a distinctive U-shape. We show that, even assuming a uniform carrier density, such a U-shape may arise from deep levels, a non-ohmic back-contact, and a thin absorber, which are commonly present in practical CdTe thin-film solar cells. A thin CdTe absorber contributes to the right branch of the U-shape due to a punch-through effect at reverse or zero biases, when the CdTe absorber is nearly fully depleted. A rectifying back-contact contributes to both branches of the U-shape due to voltage sharing with the front junction under a forward bias and early punch-through under a reverse bias. Deep levels contribute to the right branch, but also raise the bottom of the U-shape, leading to an overestimate of carrier density. (C) 2012 Elsevier By. All rights reserved.