What are the different types of solar cells?

As researchers keep developing photovoltaic cells, the world will have newer and better solar cells. Most solar cells can be divided into three different types: crystalline silicon solar cells, thin-film solar cells, and third-generation solar cells. The crystalline silicon solar cell is first-generation technology and entered the world in 1954.

How efficient are solar cells?

Solar cells of this kind, characterized by reduced material usage, lower manufacturing costs, and flexibility, typically achieve conversion efficiencies ranging from 6% to 15% (Jaiswal et al., 2022).

How to improve solar cell efficiency?

Based on the discussion in future the solar cell efficiency can only improved by multi junction techniques (Third Generation). There are so many barriers to the solar industry, including reducing the cost of development, public awareness and the best technology.

How efficient are silicon solar cells in the photovoltaic sector?

The photovoltaic sector is now led by silicon solar cells because of their well-established technology and relatively high efficiency. Currently, industrially made silicon solar modules have an efficiency between 16% and 22% (Anon (2023b)).

What is the efficiency of first generation solar cells?

Solar cells fabricated from Silicon are the first generation solar cells with more improvement needed for large absorption of incident sunlight and increase in efficiency. Thin film technology and amorphous Silicon solar cells were further developed to meet these conditions.

Which solar cell has the highest efficiency?

The highest efficiency of a-Si cell is found as 12.69%, which is provided in Table 2. The usual design of an a-Si:H solar cell is shown in Fig. 5d.