Current Solar Cells Types

Solar Cells can be fabricated from a variety of materials using various complex manufacturing methods. The first Solar Cell made was based on Selenium. The Photovoltaic Cells we use today are based on Silicon and are a great improvement over the early Selenium based ones.

For a Solar Cell to operate it requires a positive (p-type) and negative (n-type) material, this material is produced by introducing positive charge and negative charge impurities into Pure Silicon, thus when sunlight falls upon the material current flows generating electricity

There are three types of Silicon Solar Cells in use today Monocrystalline Silicon Cells, Amorphous Silicon Cells and Polymorphic Silicon Cells.

Monocrystalline Silicon Cells are the oldest and have a conversion efficiency of about 24%, next comes Polymorphic Silicon Cells with a conversion efficiency of about 18%, and third are the Amorphous Silicon Cells with conversion efficiency around 13%

Monocrystalline Silicon based Solar Cells are the costliest of the three, because of there relatively high efficiency which is a direct consequence to the amount of Silicon used to produce the cell and the manufacturing process involved in there production.

Polymorphic Silicon Solar Cells are made from poured liquid Silicon which is less efficient; since as the material solidifies different sizes of crystalline structures are created which result in defects at the structural borders of the crystal.

Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells are based on a thin film deposition process that places Silicon on a substrate material such as glass to a thickness of less than 1um. This thin film reduces the effectiveness of the cell, but due to the small amount of Silicon used is the least expensive of the three.

Another type of Solar Cell that is being researched is based on Copper; if these Copper Cells can reach the efficiencies of Monocrystalline Solar Cells this could lead to a technological revolution which would result in inexpensive high efficiency cells since the major cost of a Solar Cell is in the manufacturing of the Silicon.

One Copper Formulation that shows great promise is Copper-Indium-Gallium-(Di)Selenide Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) which in lab test has demonstrated a light conversion efficiency close to 20% when exposed to direct sunlight.

Research is also being conducted into using Silver to increase the efficiency of Silicon Solar Cells by adding minute Silver Particles which help the cell absorb a wider range of sunlight wavelengths

Another avenue being explored is the use of Carbon Nanotube technology which would create high efficiency Solar Cells that may well usher in the next generation of Photovoltaic Devices.


Solar Cell Technology shows great potential and even though todays Solar Cells/Panels can not be used for generating huge ammounts of power they can be used effectively by homeowners and rv owners to save money on their energy needs at an affordable price, which also increases the value to your home.

Learn more about Solar Cells, Photovoltaic Panels and Wind Turbines and how this Solar Energy Green Technology can benefit you Today!