A Study on Recent Trends in Photovoltaics and its Various Applications

Photovoltaic (solar) cells are gaining more popularity as an important source of energy. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels comprising a number of cells containing a photovoltaic material. The photovoltaic effect is the creation of a voltage in a material upon exposure to light. A wide variety of cell materials and designs are now in production, including thin film devices whose performance is monitored by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE). The experimental next-generation cells such as organic thin films, promise low production cost and ease of manufacturing. Regardless of the material used, most solar cell designs rely on thin films, and the natural choice for studying and monitoring the performance of these films is Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. This paper reviews the current and emerging applications of SE to different solar cell films, structures and devices, production of energy from solar cells.