Photovoltaic cells

Using the insight that selenium conducts current more easily in the light than in the dark, photovoltaic cells were invented to convert sunlight into electricity by using semiconductors to create a current from light-excited electrons.
 Fuller, Chapin and Pearson England 1954 Photovoltaic cells

Using the insight that selenium conducts current more easily in the light than in the dark, photovoltaic cells were invented to convert sunlight into electricity by using semiconductors to create a current from light-excited electrons.