Solar Cells for Ecological Sustainable Development: A Review

Solar energy is considered an environmentally friendly and never-ending renewable source of energy. Solar cells are an essential component of ecological sustainability. This energy can be harnessed for generating electricity without any pollutants even in remote areas. This renewable source of energy has been used to eliminate fossil sources. A solar cell converts solar energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. Scientists and engineers are continuously making efforts to enhance the efficiencies, decrease the cost of solar cells, and devise technology so that the maximum amount of sunlight is converted into electricity. These efforts culminate into four generations of solar cells – first, second, third, and fourth generations. Different models have been employed to conceptually analyze solar cells, which is also beneficial to enhance the performance of the solar cell. In this study, advancement in the generations of solar cells, their types, manufacturing processes, various models, and future aspects have been discussed.