Photovoltaic System in Progress:A Survey of Recent Development

This paper provides a comprehensive update on photovoltaic (PV) technologies and the materials. In recent years, targeted research advancement has been made in the photovoltaic cell technologies to reduce cost and increase efficiency. Presently, several types of PV solar panels are commercially utilized and playing an important role in the market. Three generations of photovoltaic technologies are investigated and discussed; Crystalline Silicon Technology categorized as first generation of PV technology, Thin Film Technologies are second generation of PV technologies and Multi-junction Cells falls in the third generation PV technologies. However, Multi-junction Cells are still considered new and have not yet achieved commercialization status. The fundamental change observed among all generations has been how the semiconductor material is employed and the development associated with crystal structure. Silicon remains the prominent semiconductor within photovoltaic