ADVANCED SOLAR CELL TECHNOLOGY: AN UP TO DATE REVIEW

Abstract

Generation of clean energy is one of the main challenges of the 21st century. Solar energy is the
most abundantly available renewable energy source which could be supplying more than 50% of
the global electricity demand in 2100.Solar cells are used to convert light energy into electrical
energy directly with an appeal that it does not generate any harmful bi-products, like greenhouse
gasses. The manufacturing of solar cells is actually based on the types of semiconducting or
non-semiconducting materials used and commercial maturity. From the very beginning of the
terrestrial use of Solar Cells, efficiency and costs are the main focusing areas of research. The
definition of so-called advanced technologies sometimes described as including any technology
capable of overcoming the Shockley–Queisser limit of power conversion efficiency (33.7%) for
a single junction device. In this paper, some prominent solar cells technologies, their structural
morphology, electrical and optical properties are elaborately discussed. The excellent state of the
art technology, advantages and potential research issues yet to be explored are also pointed out.