Types of solar photovoltaic cells

Electricity is produced in solar cells, which, as noted, consist of more layers of semi conductive material. When the sun's rays shine down uponthe solar cells the electromotive force between these layers is being created, which causes the flow of electricity. The higher the solar radiation intensity, the greater the flow of electricity. The most common material for the production of solar cells is silicon. Silicon is obtained from sand and is one of the most common elements in the earth's crust, so there is no limit to theavailability of raw materials. Solar cell manufacturing technologies are

• Mono-crystalline
• Multi/poly-crystalline
• Thin-film technology

Mono-crystalline 

Mono-crystalline Si cells: conversion efficiency for this type of cells range from 13% to 17%, and can generally be said to be in wide commercial use. In good light conditions, it is the most efficient photovoltaic cell. This type of cell can convert solar radiation of 1000 W/to 140 W of electricity with the cell surface of 1. The production of mono-crystalline Si cells requires anPure semiconducting material

Mono-crystalline rods are extracted from the molten silicon and sliced into thin chips (wafer). Such type of production enables a relatively high degree of usability

 Mono-crystalline Silicon 

Multi/poly crystalline silicon cells

Multi-crystalline Si cells: this type of cell can convert solar radiation of 1000W/to 130 W of electricity with the cell surface of 1. The production of these cells is economically more efficient compared to mono-crystalline. Liquidsilicon is poured into blocks, which are then cut into slabs. During the solidification of materials crystal structures of various sizes are being created, at whose borders some defects may emerge, making the solar cell to have a somewhat lower efficiency, which ranges from 10% . The lifespan is expected to be between 20 and 25 years

 

Multi-crystalline Silicon

Thin film technology

  

In the thin‐film technology, the modules are manufactured by piling extremelythin layers of photosensitive materials on a cheap substrate such as glass, stainless steel or plastic. The process of generating modules in thin‐film technology has resulted in reduced production costs compared to crystallinesilicon technology, which is somewhat more intense. Today's price advantage

In the production of a thin‐film is balanced with the crystalline silicon due to lower efficiency of the thin‐film, which ranges from 5% to 13%. The share of thin‐film technology on the market is 15% and constantly increasing, it is expected an increase in years to come and thus reduce the adverse market ratio in relation to the photovoltaic module of crystalline silicon. Lifespan is around 15‐20 years