Solar panels are typically constructed with cystalline silicon, which is used in other industries (such as the microprocessor industry), and the more expensive gallium arsenide, which is produced exclusively for use in photovoltaic (solar panels) cells. Other, more efficient solar panels are assembled by depositing amorphous silicon alloy in a continuous roll-to-roll process. The solar cells created from this process are called Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells, or A-si. Solar Panels constructed using amorphous silicon technology are more durable, efficient, and thinner than their crystalline counterparts.

For very important solar projects, such as space probes that have to rely on  solar energy, very-high efficiency solar cells are constructed from gallium arsenide by a process called molecular beam epitaxy. Solar cells & solar panels constructed by this process have several p-n junction diodes, each designed to be maximally efficient at absorbing a given part of the solar spectrum. This solar panels are much more efficient than conventional types, but the process and materials involved make them far too expensive for everyday applications. The newest solar panels function on the molecular or quantum level, and represent an exciting new technology coming into play. These solar panels are created by implanting carbon nanotubes or quantum dots into a treated plastic. Unlike silicon-based solar panels, these solar panels do not have to be constructed in a clean room, and therefore production costs are somewhat dimished.

 

Beauty on a Budget ( Business )