Glossary
- solar cell A device for converting sunlight into electrical energy, consisting of a sandwich of P-type and N-type semiconducting wafers. A photon with sufficient energy striking the cell can dislodge an electron from an atom near the interface of the two...
- wafer In the context of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, a wafer refers to a thin, flat disk or substrate made of a semiconducting material, usually crystalline silicon. Wafers serve as the foundation for the fabrication of integrated circuits...
- thermoelectric solar cell A solar cell that uses a thermoelectric converter, consisting of two sheets of metal with a semiconductor sandwiched between them, to generate electricity.
- thin-film solar cell A solar cell that is lightweight and flexible because of its construction by vacuum deposition of a semiconductor material (e.g., gallium arsenide or cadmium sulfide) onto a thin metal or plastic substrate. It is used as a power source in spacecraft...
green photonicssolar waferssolar optical componentsoptical componentssunlightelectrical energysemiconducting wafersemi conductor waferoptics