PV Devices
Photovoltaic devices can be made from various types of
semiconductor materials, deposited or arranged in various
structures, to produce solar cells that have optimal performance.
In this section, we first review the three main types of
materials used for solar cells. The first type is silicon, which
can be used in various forms, including single-crystalline,
multicrystalline, and amorphous. The second type is
polycrystalline thin films, with specific discussion of copper
indium diselenide (CIS) cadmium telluride (CdTe), and thin-film
silicon. Finally, the third type of material is single-crystalline
thin film, focusing especially on cells made with gallium
arsenide.
We then discuss the various ways that these materials are
arranged to make complete solar devices. The four basic structures
we describe include homojunction, heterojunction, p-i-n and n-i-p,
and multijunction devices.
Solar Cell Materials
