Silicon photovoltaic solar cell
Célula solar fotovoltaica de silicio
- Date
- 1954 · confidence high
- Place
- Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey, United States
- Credited to
- Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson (Bell Labs)
- People
- 👤 Calvin Souther Fuller1902–1994👤 Daryl Chapin1906–1995👤 Gerald Pearson1905–1987
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
The first practical solar cell, with 6 per cent efficiency, based on a silicon p-n junction. It powered satellites from 1958 and is today the cheapest source of electricity in history.
What it led to
- The power supply for satellites and space probes
- The energy transition and the Chinese photovoltaic industry
- The decentralised electrification of rural areas without a grid
Built on
- Discovery of the photovoltaic effect1839
- First selenium solar cell (Fritts)1883
- Czochralski method of single-crystal growth1916
- The p-n junction in semiconductors1940
- Bipolar junction transistor1948
- photovoltaic effect (Becquerel, 1839)
- purified silicon
Made possible
- PERC silicon solar cell1983-1989
- Dye-sensitised solar cell (Grätzel cell)1991
- Pay-as-you-go solar home systems (M-KOPA)2012
- Vanguard 1 satellite
- rooftop solar panels
- perovskite cells