Solar cells are the fundamental building blocks of solar energy generating systems, since they collect electrical energy directly from light energy without any intermediary steps. A solar cell's operation is purely dependent on its
photovoltaic effect, which is why it is also known as a photovoltaic cell.
A semiconductor device is what a solar cell is. The voltage or potential difference established across the terminals of the solar cell is fixed at 0.5 volt
and is nearly independent of the intensity of incident light, whereas the current capacity of the cell is nearly proportional to the intensity of incident light as well as the area that is exposed to the light. Solar cells, like
all other types of battery cells, have one positive and one negative terminal. A solar or photovoltaic cell typically contains negative front and positive rear contacts. In the midst of these two connections lies a semiconductor
p-n junction.
Some photons of light are absorbed by the solar cell when sunlight falls on it. Some of the absorbed photons will have an energy larger than the energy gap between the semiconductor crystal's valence and conduction
bands. As a result of receiving energy from one photon, one valence electron becomes excited and leaps out of the bond, forming an electronhole pair. Light-generated electrons and holes are electrons and holes produced by e-h pairs.
Due to the electrostatic force of the field across the junction, light-generated electrons near the p-n junction migrate to the n-type side of the junction. Due to the same electrostatic force, light-generated holes at the junction
migrate to the p-type side of the junction.
A potential difference is generated between two sides of the cell in this manner, and if these two sides are linked by an external circuit, current will flow from the solar cell's positive
to negative terminal. This was the fundamental operating concept of a solar cell; now we'll go through the many aspects of a solar or photovoltaic cell that influence the solar panel's rating. It is critical to understand a solar
panel's ratings when selecting a specific solar cell for a certain project. These numbers indicate how well a solar cell can convert light into energy.
