Solar Energy: The Physics And Engineering Of Ph... -

While the physics is elegant, the engineering is where the real-world challenges lie. A raw silicon wafer isn't very efficient on its own; it requires several layers of sophisticated design:

When a photon (a particle of light) hits the solar cell with energy equal to or greater than the band gap, it knocks an electron loose. This creates an electron-hole pair . Solar Energy: The Physics and Engineering of Ph...

The foundation of solar energy is the , first observed in 1839 by Edmond Becquerel. To understand how it works, we have to look at the subatomic level of semiconductors, usually silicon. While the physics is elegant, the engineering is