Transient photocapacitance (TPC) and photocurrent (TPI) spectroscopy were used to characterize defects in CdTe/CdS solar cells. A broad defect band is observed at an optical energy of 1.28 eV above the valence band, and such a defect is not indicated by admittance spectroscopy and drive-level capacitance profiling. Temperature-dependent TPC measurements of the defect band follow a thermal quenching model in which the defect's energy, 0.22 eV below the conduction band, is consistent with the optical response. We provide a theoretical basis for the use of a thermal quenching model in TPC. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.