A solar cell or photovoltaic cell (PV cell) is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect. 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.
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.
Solar cells are essential for photovoltaic systems that capture energy from the sun and convert it into useful electricity for our homes and devices. Solar cells are made of materials that absorb light and release electrons. The most common material is silicon, an abundant element in the Earth 's crust.
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.
Solar cells are made of materials that absorb light and release electrons. The most common material is silicon, an abundant element in the Earth 's crust. When photons (light particles) hit the solar cell, the electrons in the silicon are released. These free electrons generate an electrical current when they are captured.
That means a solar cell can't produce any more electrical energy than it receives each second as light. In practice, as we'll see shortly, most cells convert about 10–20 percent of the energy they receive into electricity.
They are also often called solar cells because their primary use is to generate electricity specifically from sunlight, but there are few applications where other light is used; for example, for power over fiber one usually uses laser light.
Solar cells are typically named after the semiconducting material they are made of. These materials must have certain characteristics in order to absorb sunlight. Some cells are designed to handle sunlight that reaches the Earth''s surface, while others are optimized for use in space. Solar cells can be made of a single layer of light-absorbing material (single-junction) or use multiple physical confi…