Analysis of structural characteristics and development trend of solar cells

The world's solar cell technologies have witnessed rapid development for years. The silicon solar cell is the foundation of solar cell technology; its concept is still widely used. Based on that, to further improve efficiency, the third-generation solar cells concept was proposed. The paper is intended to review the fundamentals of solar cells and is marked on the emerging solar cell technologies. Silicon solar cell structure, principles and characterization are introduced. The fabrication process of the silicon solar cells is mentioned. The new technologies used in solar cells are discussed. Some data is included to illustrate the efficiency improvement. The paper is concluded with the future trends of solar cell technology. It suggests further research that scientists should focus on.