The Advancement of Silicon as A Photovoltaic Material: Historical Accomplishments, Present Efficiency and Future Development

In today's society where energy and environmental issues are increasingly gaining attention, research, development, and utilization of renewable and clean energy continuously attract the interest of academia, environmental protection, and business alike. Its application has already entered people's lives and is gradually expanding its market share. As a result, there is a growing demand for more efficiently designed, environmentally friendly and less costly new energy devices. Among various energy resources such as tidal, wind or geothermal, solar energy stands out as the most widely used clean and renewable resource. Given that solar energy is virtually limitless for humans, the function of solar cells in converting solar energy to electricity demonstrates significant social, environmental, and economic benefits. For the development of solar energy and new research, photovoltaic materials are crucial. Non-toxic and with excellent photovoltaic properties, silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust and the most abundant in water. Since crystalline silicon solar cells produced for the first time in 1954, silicon has held the most important material position in photovoltaic cell manufacturing and maintained market dominance. The importance of silicon solar cell research, its development and current status are briefly outlined in this paper. It reviews the advantages and disadvantages of existing silicon-based photovoltaic materials and potential future developments. As a photovoltaic material, silicon holds significant advantages compared to others, suggesting a broad scope for both research and commercial prospects in the long term.