current

An electric current is a flow of electric charge. In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. It can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in aplasma.[1] The SI unit for measuring an electric current is the ampere, which […]

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) is the crystalline forms of silicon, either multicrystalline silicon (multi-Si) consisting of small crystals, or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si), a continuous crystal. Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. These cells are assembled into solar panels as part of a photovoltaic system to […]

Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) is a I–III–VI2 semiconductor material composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium. The material is a solid solution of copper indium selenide (often abbreviated “CIS”) and copper gallium selenide. It has a chemical formula of CuInxGa(1-x)Se2 where the value of x can vary from 1 (pure copper indium selenide) to […]

Energy conversion efficiency (η) is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The input, as well as the useful output may be electric power, mechanical work, light(radiation), or heat.[citation needed] Output energy is always lower than input energy Overview[edit] Energy conversion efficiency is not defined […]

A solar concentrator uses lenses, called Fresnel lenses, which take a large area of sunlight and direct it towards a specific spot by bending the rays of light and focusing them. Some people use the same principle when they use a magnifying lens to focus the Sun’s rays on a pile of kindling or paper […]

A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also called compact fluorescent light, energy-saving light, and compact fluorescent tube, is a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent lamp; some types fit into light fixtures formerly used for incandescent lamps. The lamps use a tube which is curved or folded to fit into the space of an incandescent bulb, […]

A photovoltaic device or module that provides useful heat energy in addition to electricity.

Coal (Old English col; meaning “mineral of fossilized carbon” since the thirteenth century) is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature […]

A process for making inexpensive GaAs photovoltaic cells in which a thin film of GaAs is grown atop a thick, single-crystal GaAs (or other suitable material) substrate and then is cleaved from the substrate and incorporated into a cell, allowing the substrate to be reused to grow more thin-film GaAs.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a chemical process used to produce high quality, high-performance, solid materials. The process is often used in the semiconductor industry to produce thin films. In typical CVD, the wafer(substrate) is exposed to one or more volatile precursors, which react and/or decompose on the substrate surface to produce the desired deposit. […]