Author(s)

XiZhi Zhang^*, XiYuan Zhang

Affiliation(s)

Portola High School, Irvine 92618, Orange County, U.S.A.

Corresponding Author

XiZhi Zhang

ABSTRACT

This review sheds light on the photovoltaic technologies’ evolving progress, a technology involving light conversion into electricity via the photovoltaic effect. While with main focus on the first and second generation photovoltaic technologies, the scope of this review covers three generations of solar cell materials, examining the triumphs and challenges of the most representative and leading materials for each, in order to delineate the state of the art in the area. The technologies covered include: first-generation crystalline silicon (c-Si), second-generation commercial thin-film technologies such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and third-generation emerging cells like perovskites. While c-Si is the leading PV technology due to its high maturity, high efficiency, and reliable large-scale manufacturing, its efficiency is limited theoretically. Thin-film technologies offer lower manufacturing costs, but rely on pricier encapsulation and scarce materials. Emerging technologies sit at the research frontier and can potentially surpass the efficiencies of the first and second generations, but lack demonstrated module-scale systems, and, in the case of the most efficient perovskites, face moisture-induced degradation and toxicity concerns. The conclusion is that as dominant technologies reach plateaus of performance improvement, future development focus must shift toward interface-oriented strategies, innovative architectures like the cross-fertilizing tandem cells, and solutions for material and environmental sustainability to continue advancing the field.

KEYWORDS

Crystalline silicon; Cadmium telluride; Copper indium gallium diselenide; Hydrogenated amorphous silicon; Photovoltaics; Perovskite solar cells

CITE THIS PAPER

XiZhi Zhang, XiYuan Zhang. The technological frontier of commercial photovoltaics: current status and future directions for silicon and thin-film technologies. World Journal of Mathematics and Physics. 2025, 3(1): 51-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/wjmp3017.

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