A solar cell (also called a photovoltaic cell or photocell) is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect It is a form of photoelectric cell (in that its electrical characteristics—e.g. current, voltage, or resistance—vary when light is incident upon it).

The cell is so designed that a large area is exposed to light which enhances the voltage generation across the two terminals of the cell.

Its Construction and working is explained below:

Construction:

It essentially consists of a silicon PN junctiondiode with a glass window on top surface layer of P material is made extremely thin so that incident light photons may easily reach the PN junction.

It has metal ring below the layer of glass window. As shown in the given diagram the Solar cell is like an ordinary diode. It consist of silicon, germanium PN junction with a glass windows on the top surface layer of P-type and at bottom it consist of metal.

Solar cell construction: The construction of a solar cell is shown below. The principle layer of this cell includes an anti-reflective cover glass. This glass guards the semi-conductor materials against the sunlight. In this cell, small grid patterns with slight metallic strips are available under the glass. So that the top layer of this cell can be formed by using the glass, metallic strips and anti-reflective coat. The most important part of the cell is the middle layer where solar energy can be formed through the effect of photovoltaic. It consists of two semiconductor layers which are made up of p-type and n-type materials. The base layer of this cell consist of two parts. A rear metallic electrode is beneath the p-type semiconductor and it works with the metallic grid to generate an electric current in the pinnacle layer. A reflective layer is the last layer in this cell used to decrease the loss of light within the system. Based on the application, solar cells utilize various materials based on their application and cost. Solar cell working: Once the solar energy falls on a solar panel, then it absorbs. Each panel in the solar panel includes semiconductor material to combine the properties of insulators and metal. So it makes to convert the light energy into electrical. Once the energy from the sun falls on the panel then a semiconductor absorbs, the energy of photons transfers to electrons and allows the flow of electrons through the material like an electric current. There are different kinds of semiconductor materials used in solar cells like silicon, photovoltaics like Thin-film, organic and concentration photovoltaics.