Homemade Copper Solar Cells
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Selenium was extensively used in the production of commercial solar cells before silicon. Although it can be a somewhat difficult to find a supplier and it is a toxic heavy metal, it is relatively inexpensive and can often be found in old model radio sets, where it was used in the rectifier of the power supply. A selenium photocell is made from a metal plate (usually iron) with one side being covered with a layer of selenium. A very thin layer of silver or gold is spattered over the selenium layer forming a layer of current-carrying material that allows light to pass through it. This layer is called a transparent electrode. A metal electrode called a collector, rests on the gold or silver near the edge of it.
Wires are attached to the collector and the iron plate to deliver the electric current to the load. Although not as great an output as more modern cells, a selenium photocell can produce as much as eight milliamperes for each square inch of surface area exposed to bright sunlight.
Cadmium sulfide is probably the most promising low-cost solar cell second only to silicon.
If you have an interest in electronics, you will undoubtedly recognize cadmium sulfide (the common "CDS" cell) as the material used in light detecting circuits. Although inventors have realized for some time that a number of materials such as cadmium sulfide change their electrical resistance in the presence of light, it has only been in fairly recent times that it was realized they could also be used to generate power also.
The most important attribute of cadmium sulfide is that it could be mass-produced efficiently using a thin-film procedure wherein very thin layers of its photosensitive components are evaporated onto a base metal or screen printed.
Cadmium cells are fairly efficient (3-5 typical) making them a good rival for amorphous silicon cells.
An Experimental Cell With Cuprous Oxide
The best cell by far for the you to start with, is a cell made with cuprous oxide (CuAO). Copper actually has two oxides, a red
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