(1) The first generation of solar cells: mainly including monocrystalline silicon solar cells, polysilicon silicon solar cells and their composite solar cells with amorphous silicon. The first generation of solar cells are widely used in human daily life because of the development of their preparation process and high conversion efficiency, occupying the majority of the photovoltaic market share. At the same time, the life of silicon-based solar cell modules can ensure that their efficiency can still be maintained at 80% of the original efficiency after 25 years, so so far crystalline silicon solar cells are the mainstream products in the photovoltaic market.
(2) The second generation of solar cells: mainly represented by copper indium grain selenium (CIGS), cadmium antimonide (CdTe) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) materials. Compared with the first generation, the cost of the second generation of solar cells is significantly lower because of their thinner absorbent layers, which is considered a promising material for photovoltaic power generation at a time when crystalline silicon is expensive.
(3) The third generation of solar cells: mainly including perovskite solar cells, dye sensitized solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, etc. Because of its high efficiency and advanced, these batteries have become the focus of research in this field. Among them, the highest conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells has reached 25.2%.
In general, crystalline silicon solar cells are still the most widely used mainstream products with the highest commercial value in the current photovoltaic market. Among them, polycrystalline silicon cells have obvious price advantages and market advantages, but their photoelectric conversion efficiency is poor. Monocrystalline silicon cells have higher cost, but their efficiency is significantly better than polycrystalline silicon cells. However, with the new generation of technological innovation, the cost of monocrystalline silicon wafers is decreasing, and the current market demand for high-end photovoltaic products with high conversion efficiency is only increasing. Therefore, the research and improvement of monocrystalline silicon cells has become an important direction in the field of photovoltaic research.
Post time: Apr-13-2022