The development history of solar cells can be traced back to 1839, when the French physicist Alexander Edmund Bekkerel discovered the photovoltaic effect. It was not until 1883 that American scientist Charles Fritz made the first selenium solar cell. In the 1930 s, selenium batteries and copper oxide batteries have been used in some photosensitive instruments, such as photometers and camera exposure needles. Modern silicon solar cells were developed by semiconductor researcher Russell Ohl until 1946. Then in 1954, scientists improved the conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells to about 4%, and reached 1 1% the following year. Subsequently, solar cells were applied to artificial satellites. 1973 after the energy crisis, human beings began to turn solar cells to civilian use. It was first used in calculators and watches. In 1974, Haynos et al. used the anisotropic etching characteristics of silicon to etch many pyramids on the surface of monocrystalline silicon solar cells. Pyramid suede structure can effectively reduce the reflection loss of sunlight on the surface of the battery, making the conversion efficiency of solar cells reach 17% at that time.

After 1976, how to reduce the cost of solar cells has become the focus of attention in the industry. After 1990, the reduction of battery cost made solar cells enter the field of private power generation, and solar cells began to be applied to grid-connected power generation.