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The theory of solar cells explains the process by which light energy in photons is converted into electric current when the photons strike a suitable semiconductor device. The theoretical studies are of practical use because they predict the fundamental limits of a solar cell , and give guidance on the phenomena that contribute to losses and ...
Both n-type and p-type semiconductor/liquid junctions can be used as photovoltaic devices to convert solar energy into electrical energy and are called photoelectrochemical cells. In addition, a semiconductor/liquid junction could also be used to directly convert solar energy into chemical energy by virtue of photoelectrolysis at the ...
In the early 1990s the technology used for space solar cells diverged from the silicon technology used for terrestrial panels, with the spacecraft application shifting to gallium arsenide-based III-V semiconductor materials, which then evolved into the modern III-V multijunction photovoltaic cell used on spacecraft.
First generation solar cells are made of crystalline silicon, also called, conventional, traditional, wafer-based solar cells and include monocrystalline (mono-Si) and polycrystalline (multi-Si) semiconducting materials. Second generation solar cells or panels are based on thin-film technology and are of commercially significant importance.
Gallium arsenide is an important semiconductor material for high-cost, high-efficiency solar cells and is used for single-crystalline thin-film solar cells and for multi-junction solar cells. [35] The first known operational use of GaAs solar cells in space was for the Venera 3 mission, launched in 1965.
The second is a photoelectrolytic cell, that is, a device which uses light incident on a photosensitizer, semiconductor, or aqueous metal immersed in an electrolytic solution to directly cause a chemical reaction, for example to produce hydrogen via the electrolysis of water.
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline form of silicon used for solar cells and thin-film transistors in LCDs.. Used as semiconductor material for a-Si solar cells, or thin-film silicon solar cells, it is deposited in thin films onto a variety of flexible substrates, such as glass, metal and plastic.
The use of polycrystalline silicon in the production of solar cells requires less material and therefore provides higher profits and increased manufacturing throughput. Polycrystalline silicon does not need to be deposited on a silicon wafer to form a solar cell, rather it can be deposited on other, cheaper materials, thus reducing the cost.