Classification Of Solar Panel Materials

Currently, crystalline silicon materials (including polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon) are the most important photovoltaic materials, with a market share of over 90%, and will remain the mainstream material for solar cells for a considerable period of time in the future. The production technology of polysilicon materials has long been in the hands of 10 factories of 7 companies in 3 countries, including the United States, Japan, and Germany, resulting in a technological blockade and market monopoly. The demand for polysilicon mainly comes from semiconductors and solar cells. According to different purity requirements, it is divided into electronic grade and solar grade. Among them, electronic grade polysilicon accounts for about 55%, and solar grade polysilicon accounts for 45%. With the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry, the demand for polysilicon from solar cells is growing faster than the development of semiconductor polysilicon. It is expected that the demand for solar polysilicon will exceed that of electronic grade polysilicon by 2008. In 1994, the total output of solar cells worldwide was only 69 MW, while in 2004, it was close to 1200 MW, an increase of 17 times in just 10 years.
Crystal silicon solar panels: polycrystalline silicon solar cells, monocrystalline silicon solar cells.
Amorphous silicon solar panels: thin film solar cells, organic solar cells.
Chemical Dye Cell Panel: Dye sensitized solar cells.
Flexible solar cells
monocrystalline silicon
The photoelectric conversion efficiency of monocrystalline silicon solar cells is about 18%, with the highest reaching 24%. This is the highest photoelectric conversion efficiency of all types of solar cells, but the production cost is so high that it cannot be widely used. Because monocrystalline silicon is generally packaged with tempered glass and waterproof resin, it is sturdy and durable, with a service life of up to 25 years.
polysilicon
The manufacturing process of polysilicon solar cells is similar to that of monocrystalline silicon solar cells, but the photoelectric conversion efficiency of polysilicon solar cells is significantly reduced, with a photoelectric conversion efficiency of about 16%. In terms of production cost, it is cheaper than monocrystalline silicon solar cells, with simple material manufacturing, saving power consumption, and lower overall production cost. Therefore, it has been greatly developed. In addition, the service life of polycrystalline silicon solar cells is also shorter than that of monocrystalline silicon solar cells. In terms of cost performance, monocrystalline silicon solar cells are slightly better.
Amorphous silicon
Amorphous silicon solar cells are a new type of thin-film solar cells that emerged in 1976. They are completely different from monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon solar cells in terms of production methods, greatly simplifying the process, reducing silicon material consumption, and reducing power consumption. Their main advantage is that they can generate electricity under weak light conditions. However, the main problem with amorphous silicon solar cells is their low photoelectric conversion efficiency, which is around 10% at the international advanced level, and is not stable enough. Over time, their conversion efficiency decreases.