A solar cell is any device that directly converts the energy from sunlight into electrical energy. In 1883, an American inventor named Charles Fritts built the first genuine solar cell by covering selenium with a thin layer of gold.

Brief history of the Solar Cell

The development of solar cell technology would not have been possible without the research of French physicist Edmund Becquerel. In 1839, at the age of 19, Becquerel reported the photovoltaic effect when he observed that when light was shined on a solid electrode immersed in an electrolyte solution an electrical current was produced.

The solar cell created by Charles Fritt’s in 1883 only had a light to electricity conversion rate of about 1%. Still it was a start and it proved useful in the development of early light sensors for cameras.

In 1941, Russell Ohl invented the silicon solar cell. With his discovery the efficiency of solar cells began to increase.

In 1954, three American researchers, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin, discovered the use of silicon as a semiconductor. Which led to their design of silicon solar cell capable of achieving a conversion efficiency rate of 6%.

These three inventors then developed the first solar panels by placing an array of several strips of silicon in sunlight. Bell Laboratories, who funded the research of the solar cell, announced the prototype manufacture of a new solar battery.

Telstar Telecommunications Satellite

By 1956 the first commercial solar cells were made available to the public. They were extremely expensive (about $300 per watt) and were used in radios and toys.

In 1962, Bell Telephone Laboratories launches Telstar, the first active telecommunications satellite. It’s powered by solar cells that produce about 14 watts of electricity.

The Energy Crisis in 1970 led to the dramatic drop in price (about $20 per watt) of solar cells.

In 1982, Hans Tholstrup from Australia drives the Quiet Achiever -- the first solar-powered car -- 2,800 miles between Sydney and Perth in 20 days

In 1998 Subhendu Guha leads a team that invents flexible solar shingles, a roofing material to converting sunlight to electricity.

The worldwide installed photovoltaic capacity reaches 1000 megawatts in 1999.

In 2007, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Boeing Spectrolab created the High-Efficiency Metamorphic Multijunction Concentrator Solar Cell (HEMM solar cell). It breaks the 40% conversion efficiency barrier, making it twice as efficient as a typical silicon cell.

Today solar cells are used to power everything from calculators, cars, and spacecraft. Solar electric systems are now used to power many homes and business.

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