Make A Silicon Solar Cell

However it is interesting to see how a bare silicon wafer becomes a solar cell.

Make a silicon solar cell.

At this point the silicon is still not pure enough to be used for solor cells and. Crystalline silicon c si is the crystalline forms of silicon either polycrystalline silicon poly si consisting of small crystals or monocrystalline silicon mono si a continuous crystal crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells these cells are assembled into solar panels as part of a photovoltaic. To make solar cells the raw materials silicon dioxide of either quartzite gravel or crushed quartz are first placed into an electric arc furnace where a carbon arc is applied to release the oxygen. Polycrystalline silicon is used in an attempt to cut man ufacturing costs although the resulting cells aren t as efficient as single crystal silicon.

We will admit that it is unlikely you have enough gear in your basement to make a solar cell using these steps. Second generation solar cell technology consists of what s known as thin film solar cells. Keep in mind that commercial solar panels use silicon for the solar cells so the ones you make in this experiment are not the same as commercial grade cells. Individual solar cell devices are often the.

Crystalline silicon cells are further categorized as either monocrystalline silicon cells that offer high efficiencies 13 19 but are more difficult to manufacture or polycrystalline also called multicrystalline silicon cells that have lower. These homemade solar cells are just meant to demonstrate how a solar cell can convert solar energy into electricity. To understand this better let s see the different types of semiconductor material as the materials extensively used in the production of solar cells are semiconductors. Solar cells are made basically from semiconductors like silicon and selenium being the most widely used.

It is a form of photoelectric cell defined as a device whose electrical characteristics such as current voltage or resistance vary when exposed to light. While they also tend to. The products are carbon dioxide and molten silicon.