Photovoltaic cell, or solar cell, is a thin and small
semiconductor device, usually made from silicon, which converts
light, e.g., sunlight, into electricity.The basic component of
solar cells are pure silicon or crystalline compounds: Cadmium
Telluride (CdTe) and Cadmium Sulfide. Cadmium Telluride is formed
from cadmium and tellurium with a zinc blende. Cadmium Sulfide
exists in nature as two different minerals, greenockite and
hawlevite. Pure silicon, which is not pure in its natural state, is
derived from such silicon dioxides as quartzite gravel or crushed
quartz. These basic materials undergo chemical, thermal, and
mechanical treatments to produce an excess of electrons and a
deficiency of electrons respectively to make a semiconductor
capable of conducting electricity. Pure silicon, for example, is
treated with phosphorus and boron for this purpose.
