Abstract:
Non-renewable sources of energy like petroleum, coal and natural gas contributed to 75% of the world's energy requirements in 2018.1 Studies have shown that world's energy demand in 2018 was more than 23 000 TWh and increased by 2.9%.1 This level of energy consumption needs a shift from fossil-fuel and non-renewable energy sources to affordable-economic renewable sources with minimum impact on factors leading to climate change.2
Among the different renewable energy sources, solar energy is the most abundant. Solar energy can be tapped in the form of heat (solar-thermal) or electricity (photovoltaics). In the field of solar photovoltaics, the basic solar cell device which converts solar energy into electrical energy are largely silicon-based. In these devices, absorbed photons generate charge carriers which are then extracted into an external circuit and generate power at large-area efficiencies of 25 %.3
