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First practical silicon photovoltaic cell — Chapin, Fuller, and Pearson

1954 AD · Transmission: Global
EnergyEngineeringInventionNorth American

At Bell Telephone Laboratories (Murray Hill / Berkeley Heights, New Jersey), Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson developed the first practical silicon photovoltaic cell capable of converting sunlight into usable electricity at a conversion efficiency of about 6%, compared to the ~1% achieved by earlier selenium cells. It was publicly demonstrated on April 25, 1954. The discovery emerged partly by accident during research into doped silicon semiconductors (gallium + lithium bath) for transistor development. This cell was the prototype for those that would later power satellites (starting with Vanguard 1 in 1958) and, later, the modern photovoltaic industry.

InstitutionBell Telephone Laboratories
Historical regionMurray Hill / Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Primary sourceChapin, D.M.; Fuller, C.S.; Pearson, G.L. — "A new silicon p-n junction photocell for converting solar radiation into electrical power", Journal of Applied Physics, 25, 676 (1954); U.S. Patent 2,780,765, filed March 5, 1954.
Secondary sourceIEEE Engineering and Technology History Wiki — "Milestones: First Practical Photovoltaic Solar Cell"
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