Charles Fritts
Learn about this topic in these articles:
- energy conversionDirect energy-conversion devices
…in the late 1800s by Charles Fritts, who used junctions formed by coating selenium (a semiconductor) with an extremely thin layer of gold (see below Exploiting renewable energy sources).
Read More…in the late 1800s by Charles Fritts, who used junctions formed by coating selenium (a semiconductor) with an extremely thin layer of gold (see below Exploiting renewable energy sources).
Read More 
solar cellDevelopment of solar cellsAbout 50 years later, Charles Fritts constructed the first true solar cells using junctions formed by coating the semiconductor selenium with an ultrathin, nearly transparent layer of gold. Fritts’s devices were very inefficient converters of energy; they transformed less than 1 percent of absorbed light energy into electrical energy.…
Read MoreAbout 50 years later, Charles Fritts constructed the first true solar cells using junctions formed by coating the semiconductor selenium with an ultrathin, nearly transparent layer of gold. Fritts’s devices were very inefficient converters of energy; they transformed less than 1 percent of absorbed light energy into electrical energy.…
Read More