Silicon solar cell

Silicon solar cells are divided into monocrystalline silicon solar cells, polycrystalline silicon thin film solar cells and amorphous silicon thin film solar cells.

Monocrystalline silicon solar cells have the highest conversion efficiency and the most mature technology. The highest conversion efficiency is 24.7% in the laboratory and 15% in mass production (as of 2011, 18%). In large-scale applications and industrial production still occupies a dominant position, but due to the high cost of monocrystalline silicon, it is difficult to significantly reduce its cost, in order to save silicon materials, the development of polycrystalline silicon film and amorphous silicon film as an alternative to monocrystalline silicon solar cells.

Compared with monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon thin film solar cells have low cost and higher efficiency than amorphous silicon thin film cells, with maximum laboratory conversion efficiency of 18% and industrial scale production conversion efficiency of 10% (as of 2011, 17%). As a result, polycrystalline silicon thin-film cells will soon dominate the solar cell market.

Amorphous silicon thin film solar cells are low in cost, light in weight, high in conversion efficiency, easy to large-scale production, and have great potential. However, due to the photoelectric efficiency decline effect caused by its material, the stability is not high, which directly affects its practical application. If the stability problem can be further solved and the conversion rate can be improved, then amorphous silicon solar cells are undoubtedly one of the main development products of solar cells.