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Frequently Asked Questions
What
is photovoltaics?
What
is a solar cell?
How do solar cells work?
What are the different types of solar cells?
What is CIGS and why is it important?
What
is photovoltaics?
Photovoltaics
(PV) is the technology for direct conversion of sunlight into
electrical energy. The word "photo" means sun and
"volt" means electricity.
What
is a solar cell?
Solar cells, also known as photovoltaic (PV) cells are solid-state devices that
absorb sunlight and convert it into
usable electricity.
How
do solar cells work?
When sunlight strikes a solar cell, electrons in the
material are knocked loose. Flowing electrons travel through
the positive and negative ends of the semiconductor across a
junction that is built into the cell structure. The solar cell,
much like a battery, produces a voltage which can be used to
generate an electric current.
What
are the different types of solar cells?
Solar cells can be made from a variety of different
semiconductors. Single-crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells
are currently the most common type available on the market, and
were originally developed for the space program in the 1950s.
Over the last several decades, polycrystalline thin film
technologies such as Copper-Indium-Diselenide (CIS) and cadmium
telluride (CdTe) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) have shown
developments for achieving performance and cost goals with
active semiconductor layers thinner than a human hair.
What
is CIGS and why is it important?
CIGS is a leading candidate among the thin-film photovoltaic
(PV) technologies being developed. CIGS stands for
copper-indium-gallium-diselenide and is based on groundbreaking
research and development over the last 10-15 years
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