Volume 65, Issue 2, 2021

Journal of Scientific Research

Institute of Science,
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.

Advances in Solar Cell Technology: An

Overview
Rashmi A. Deshpande

Smt. C. H. M. College, Ulhasnagar, Dist. Thane, Pin. 421 003, Maharashtra, India. [email protected]

Abstract: Progress in the field of solar cell technology starting either directly used for applications such as drying, water
with first generation and second generation solar cells is discussed heating, space heating etc. or is converted into electricity. In
here by considering different materials on which these technologies photovoltaic conversion, the devices called as solar cells directly
are based. The efficiencies attained with different new age solar cell convert the solar radiation falling on them into electricity.
technologies, limitations in their commercial application have been
Increasing the efficiency of solar cells and limiting the
summarized. This paper is an overview of the advances in solar cell
technology and comparison of the performance of different types of
production cost is the key factors on which most of the research
solar cells. in this area are based upon.

Index Terms: efficiency of solar cell, perovskite solar cell, II. DIFFERENT SOLAR CELL TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER
quantum dot solar cell, solar cell technology, solar photovoltaics EFFICIENCIES
Solar cell technologies can be broadly divided as 1) solar cells
I. INTRODUCTION based on Silicon 2) thin film solar cells 3) multijunction solar
Along with food, clothes and shelter, energy is also basic need cells and 4) next generation solar cells.
of new age man. After industrial revolution the need for energy Theoretical maximum solar cell efficiency value for
in various fields went on increasing. Rather, the mechanization homojunction cells can be about 29% (Sukhatme, S. P. &
and industrialization in Europe and America were geared up Nayak, J. K., 2018) assuming incident global radiation to be
with the invention of steam power and electrical power. AM1.5 under a clear sky (1000W/m2) and with band gap energy
Conventional energy sources based on fossil fuels are in the range 1.1eV to 1.7eV. Many semiconductors like Si,
extensively used for years all over the world which has led to GaAs, CdTe have band gap in this range. However, even with
better quality of life, but it has also created harmful effects on sustained research and development the highest reported values
the environment. The fossil fuel resources are fast depleting and (2) from laboratories for solar cells and PV modules can barely
the need for alternative energy sources is recognized by all reach the maximum theoretical values.
developed as well as developing countries. The efficiency values (Green, M.A. et al, 2016; Sukhatme, S.
Apart from sources of energy based on fossil fuels there are P. & Nayak, J. K., 2018) attained in laboratory with some first
sources based on water power, nuclear energy, wind energy, generation and second generation solar cells are listed in Table I
tidal energy, geothermal energy, solar energy and biomass which for comparison purpose.
are contributing for electric power generation for commercial A. Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells
and non-commercial purposes. Both single crystal and multicrystalline, are widely popular
Solar energy is inexhaustible, environmentally clean, free and
because silicon is abundant and non-toxic. With increasing
available in adequate quantities in almost all habitable parts of production of solar PV cells and with need to reduce their cost,
the world. Main problems encountered in its application are multicrystalline Silicon is used for commercial modules, though
large collecting areas required and variation in the availability of
its efficiency is lower.
the energy with time; so collection and storage of solar energy Due to high cost of making crystalline silicon, thin film cells
requires large initial investments.
based on a hydrogenated alloy of amorphous silicon (denoted by
The solar energy is utilized in two ways 1) photothermal and a-Si:H) have been commercialized.
2) photovoltaic. In first case the heat from solar radiation is

DOI: 10.37398/JSR.2021.650214 72
 Journal of Scientific Research, Volume 65, Issue 2, 2021

B. Thin Film Solar Cells for use in space applications and solar concentrators (Sukhatme,
S. P. & Nayak,J. K. ,2018).
Table I. Efficiency values attained in laboratory with some first
generation and second generation solar cells. Measurements under D. The Next Generation Solar Cells
global AM1.5 spectrum (1000 W/m 2) and at cell temperature 250 C The next generation solar cells include: Perovskite solar cells,
(Green, M.A. et al , 2016; Sukhatme, S. P. & Nayak,J. K., 2018 ) organic solar cells, dye sensitized solar cells, kesterite solar cells
and quantum dot solar cells.
Type of Solar Cell Area Efficiency
(cm2) %
1) Pervoskites
Silicon (single crystal) 143.7 25.6
Perovskites are a group of compounds having crystal
Silicon (multicrystalline) 242.74 21.3 structure similar to a mineral called perovskite which is
Silicon (amorphous) 1.001 10.2 composed of calcium titanate (CaTiO3). Perovskite solar
Gallium arsenide GaAs 4.011 18.4 cells are based on organometallic halides. They have been
(multicrystalline) recently reported with efficiency 25.5 % in single-junction
Thin Film: architectures and 29.1% in silicon-based tandem cells
(https://www.nrel.gov/pv/cell-efficiency.html). Perovskite
Cadmium telluride CdTe 1.0623 21.0 solar cells are the fastest-advancing solar technology with the
Copper indium gallium 0.9927 21.0 potential of achieving even higher efficiencies at low
diselenide CIGS production costs. However, the commercialization of this
Gallium arsenide GaAs 0.9927 28.8 technology faces certain issues, like stability against
moisture and oxygen (Bryant, D. et al , 2016; Chun-Ren Ke,
J., et al, 2017), heating under applied voltage (Yuan, Y., et
Technology has helped to reduce the cost as compared to al, 2016), photo-unstability (Juarez-Perez, Emilio J. et al,
Silicon wafer based technology due to less material requirement. 2019) , mechanical fragility (Rolston, N., et al, 2016) and
Other advantages of thin film modules are, they can be made in environmental concerns due to toxicity of lead halides used
large sizes and can be mounted on curved surfaces with use of in perovskite solar cells.
suitable substrates. However, the efficiencies of thin film solar
cells are lower as compared to wafer based cells. 2) Organic Solar Cell
C. Multijunction Solar Cells Organic solar cell or plastic solar cell is thin film cells which
Based on amorphous silicon as well as compound use organic semiconductors. The advantages of this type of
semiconductors from group III and V elements of periodic table cell are: they are inexpensive, flexible, light weight and
have shown greatly improved efficiencies. However, their involve solution based processing. But these cells suffer from
manufacturing is expensive. An efficiency of 40.7% has been low efficiency. Various architectures and different materials
reported (King, R. R. et al., 2007) for a three-junction GaInP∕ have been tried with organic solar cells. Recently efficiency
GaInAs∕ Ge cell under the standard spectrum for terrestrial for organic photovoltaics of 17.3% was reached via tandem
concentrator solar cells at 240 suns (24.0W/cm2, AM1.5D, structure (Chen, Y., et al, 2018).
low aerosol optical depth, 25°C). Multijunction cells based on
III-V compounds are primarily used with solar concentrators, 3) Dye Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSC)
Dye sensitised solar cells (DSSC) or Gratzel cells are
mainly providing power in space applications.
photoelectrochemical cells. The cell consists of photoanode,
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a compound semiconductor which
sensitizer, electrolyte and counter electrode. The sensitizer
has replaced silicon in many applications due to high efficiency.
can be an organic dye, inorganic dye or metal-organic dye.
GaAs solar cells have been made in various forms: thin film,
The DSSC has attracted the attention mainly because it is
single crystal, multicrystalline and multijunction. The thin film
simple to make using conventional roll-printing techniques
GaAs single junction solar cells have shown efficiency of 28.8%
and most of the materials used are low-cost. Conversion
in laboratory and multicrystalline GaAs solar cells have shown
efficiencies of over 11% and 15% have been obtained with
18.4 %. Thin film GaAs solar cell modules have shown 24.1%
single junction and tandem cells, respectively, in the
efficiency in laboratory (Green, M.A. et al, 2016). Multijunction
laboratory (Nazeeruddin Md. K., et al, 2011).
solar cells with GaAs have shown efficiency of 31.6 % (Green,
M.A. et al, 2016). Other advantages of GaAs are: its bandgap
4) Kesterite Solar Cells
1.42eV is close to ideal value for PV applications, its high Kesterite solar cells are based on two synthetic compounds
performance in high temperature environment and better
copper zinc tin sulphide (Cu2ZnSnS4) (CZTS) and copper
resistance to radiation. All these characteristics make it suitable zinc tin selenide (Cu2ZnSnSe4) (CZTSe). The optical and

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Institute of Science, BHU Varanasi, India
 Journal of Scientific Research, Volume 65, Issue 2, 2021

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