Overview
       ○History of solar cells
       ○Current solar cells
       ○Cell structure and designs
       ○Organic vs Inorganic cells
       ○Concentrating Sunlight
       ○Thermodynamic cycles
       ○Innovations
       ○Conclusions  
                            !
                            O
                          at
       Cool Facts        e
                        N
       ○We are able to utilize 85% of the sun’s 
         energy in theory (but as of now our 
         technology only allows us to harness 
         about 25%)
       ○The 15% we can’t utilize is dissipated in 
         the atmosphere.
      History of Solar Cells
       ○ 1839 – Alexandre Edmond Becquerel observed 
        the photovoltaic effect through an electrode in 
        a conductive solution which was exposed to 
        light
       ○ 1883 – Charles Fritts developed a solar cell 
        using selenium and a thin layer of gold foil to 
        form a device that had less than 1% efficiency
       ○ 1954 – April 25, Bell Labs announced the first 
        practical silicon solar cell which had 6% 
        efficicency
       ○ 1985 – 20% efficienct solar cells were created 
        by the Centre for Photovoltaic Engineering at 
        the University of New South Wales
     Current Solar Cells
      ○2012 – 3D PV cells with 30% + energy 
       efficiency (still relatively inefficient)
      ○Takes many panels to produce the 
       power needed for large populations
      ○Fragile and don’t have long shelf lives
            Cell Structure and Design
                Large grain solar 
            ○
               cells8
            ○Periodic silver 
               nanowires4
                                                 Types of Solar Panel
                                                 http://www.c-changes.com/types-of-solar-panel