Solar Cell Science

What is a solar cell & how does it work?

Solar cell, any device that directly converts the energy of light into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. The majority of solar cells are fabricated from silicon—with increasing efficiency and lowering cost as the materials range from amorphous to polycrystalline to crystalline silicon forms.

What is a solar cell?

Individual solar cell devices are often the electrical building blocks of photovoltaic modules, known colloquially as "solar panels". Almost all commercial PV cells consist of crystalline silicon, with a market share of 95%. Cadmium telluride thin-film solar cells account for the remainder.

How are solar cells made?

Solar cells are semi-conductor devices which use sunlight to produce electricity. They are manufactured and processed in a similar fashion as computer memory chips. Solar cells are primarily made up of silicon which absorbs the photons emitted by sun’s rays. The process was discovered as early as 1839.

How do solar cells produce electricity?

Solar cells are devices for converting sunlight into electricity. Their primary element is often a semiconductor which absorbs light to produce carriers of electrical charge. An applied electric field can then sweep these carriers out of the semiconductor, thus producing an electrical current.

What are solar cells used for?

Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar modules that generate electrical power from sunlight, as distinguished from a "solar thermal module" or "solar hot water panel". A solar array generates solar power using solar energy. Application of solar cells as an alternative energy source for vehicular applications is a growing industry.

What is solar energy materials & solar cells?

An International Journal Devoted to Photovoltaic, Photothermal, and Photochemical Solar Energy Conversion Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells is intended as a vehicle for the dissemination of research results on materials science and technology related to photovoltaic, photothermal and photoelectrochemicalsolar energy conversion.