Future Students
What are Photovoltaic Devices
Photovoltaic Cell
Solar cells are devices that can convert the energy of the sun directly into electricity. This electricity can then be used to power electrical equipment such as lights and televisions, just like the electricity from a power point. Solar cells rely on a quantum mechanical process known as the 'photovoltaic effect'. They are thus also known as 'photovoltaic' cells, a word that comes from the Greek word photo, meaning 'derived from light' (as in the word photograph), combined with the name of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta, who invented the first battery (as in the word voltage).
Conventional methods of generating electricity (e.g. burning coal and other fossil fuels) can produce pollutants such as carbon dioxide, the main gas responsible for global warming. Furthermore, fossil fuels are non-renewable resources. The only resource needed to power a solar cell is sunlight. Since sunlight is clean, abundant and effectively limitless, solar cells are a non-polluting and renewable alternative to more conventional energy sources. Moreover, since there are no moving parts, solar cells can continue to operate reliably for many years without maintenance. They are quiet, modular and eminently suited to use in urban settings, close to their load.
How do they work?
Find out how photovoltaic devices work, what they can be used for, and what the future holds.
Buried contact solar cells
The Buried Contact Solar Cell (BCSC), is one of the most successful new solar cell technologies to be developed in the last 15 years. The BCSC is one of the School's most outstanding successes.
Thin-film solar cells
A solar cell made by depositing a thin layer of semiconductor onto a low-cost supporting material.
Grid-connected photovoltaics
Photovoltaic (PV) cells are a clean renewable source of energy that have been used in stand-alone applications for many years. However, with the growing concern over greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues, renewable energy sources such as PV are being increasingly connected to the electricity network. Europe and Japan are at the forefront of development in grid-connected PV, although use of such systems in Australia has grown rapidly in recent years.
Remote area power supply
In remote regions of Australia where grid-supplied electricity is unavailable, unreliable or prohibitively expensive, an alternative exists in the form of a Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS).