A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that
converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. The first
solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. In 1931 a German
engineer, Dr Bruno Lange, developed a photo cell using silver selenide in place
of copper oxide. Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1%
of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James
Clerk Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work
of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and
Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954. These early solar cells
cost 286 USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.5–6%. By 2012 available
efficiencies exceed 20% and the maximum efficiency of research photovoltaics is
over 40%.
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