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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 ...
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.
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. Amorphous silicon cells generally ...
Used in photoresistors and solar cells; CdS/Cu 2 S was the first efficient solar cell. Used in solar cells with CdTe. Common as quantum dots. Crystals can act as solid-state lasers. Electroluminescent. When doped, can act as a phosphor. II-VI: 2: Cadmium telluride: CdTe: 1.49 [6] direct: Used in solar cells with CdS.
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.
The favorable values in the table below justify the choice of materials typically used for multi-junction solar cells: InGaP for the top sub-cell (E g = 1.8–1.9 eV), InGaAs for the middle sub-cell (E g = 1.4 eV), and Germanium for the bottom sub-cell (E g = 0.67 eV). The use of Ge is mainly due to its lattice constant, robustness, low cost ...
The Shockley–Queisser limit, zoomed in near the region of peak efficiency. In a traditional solid-state semiconductor such as silicon, a solar cell is made from two doped crystals, one an n-type semiconductor, which has extra free electrons, and the other a p-type semiconductor, which is lacking free electrons, referred to as "holes."
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 ...