Three major categories of photovoltaic module cells

The three main types of photovoltaic (PV) cell include two types of crystalline semiconductors (Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline) and amorphous silicon thin film. These three types account for the most market share. Two other types of PV cells that do not rely on the PN junction are dye-sensitized solar cells and organic photovoltaic cell.

There is also an assortment of emerging PV cell technologies which include Perovskite cells, organic solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells and quantum dots. The first commercially available solar cells were made from monocrystalline silicon, which is an extremely pure form of silicon.

Many different types of polymer solar cells can be fabricated depending on the cell structure. Although every structure has different advantages and disadvantages, most preferable types could be bulk heterojunction solar cells and inverted type solar cells.

The different types of materials used in fabricating photovoltaic solar cells are predominantly in the form of silicon (single as well as multi-crystalline, amorphous), cadmium-telluride, copper-indium-gallium-selenide (Srinivas et al., 2015). The first-generation solar cells gained popularity for their significant high efficiency.

These three types account for the most market share. Two other types of PV cells that do not rely on the PN junction are dye-sensitized solar cells and organic photovoltaic cell. PV technology is a rapidly growing field and many improvements, especially in efficiency and cost, can be expected.

In general, photovoltaic panels are classified into three main categories: monocrystalline, polycrystalline and thin-film panels. Each of them has particularities that make them more or less suitable depending on the environment and the objective of the project. Monocrystalline panels are manufactured from a single crystal of pure silicon.