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A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect. [1] It is a form of photoelectric cell, a device whose electrical characteristics (such as current , voltage , or resistance ) vary when it is exposed to light.
In a typical solar cell, the photovoltaic effect is used to generate electricity from sunlight. The light-absorbing or "active layer" of the solar cell is typically a semiconducting material, meaning that there is a gap in its energy spectrum between the valence band of localized electrons around host ions and the conduction band of higher-energy electrons which are free to move throughout the ...
A solar cell (also called photovoltaic cell or photoelectric cell) is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current ...
Band diagram of a silicon solar cell, corresponding to very low current (horizontal Fermi level), very low voltage (metal valence bands at same height), and therefore very low illumination. When a photon is absorbed, its energy is given to an electron in the crystal lattice. Usually this electron is in the valence band.
Solar-cell efficiency is the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted via photovoltaics into electricity by the solar cell. The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system , in combination with latitude and climate, determines the annual energy output of the system.
A HIT solar cell is composed of a mono thin crystalline silicon wafer surrounded by ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers. [15] The acronym HIT stands for " heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer". HIT cells are produced by the Japanese multinational electronics corporation Panasonic (see also Sanyo § Solar cells and plants ). [ 16 ]
It is essentially impossible for a single-junction solar cell, under unconcentrated sunlight, to have more than ~34% efficiency. A multi-junction cell, however, can exceed that limit. The theoretical performance of a solar cell was first studied in depth in the 1960s, and is today known as the Shockley–Queisser limit. The limit describes ...
In a basic Schottky-junction (Schottky-barrier) solar cell, an interface between a metal and a semiconductor provides the band bending necessary for charge separation. [1] Traditional solar cells are composed of p-type and n-type semiconductor layers sandwiched together, forming the source of built-in voltage (a p-n junction). [2]