From Extraterrestrial to Terrestrial Applications

In the early 1950s, Bell Laboratories in the USA investigated possible applications of silicon semiconductors in electronics. While improving transistors, Bell scientists Gerald Pearson and Calvin Fuller invented the first silicon solar cell. That first effort was further improved for applications in remote humid locations by Darryl Chapin [1]. The first experiment with silicon yielded an efficiency of 2.3%. Improvements with regard to the dopants, the metallic contacts to the p- and n-side and the application of an antireflection coating led to efficiencies of 4%. In 1954, cells with 6% efficiency could be reliably manufactured.