I looked into the inkjet solar cells, and the idea was abandoned after it took off in 2008. I had honestly never heard of this being done before so it sounded insane to me reading it here.
But yes it appears photo-cells are much less complicated than I thought.
I was thinking of them as analog to the semiconductors used in computers, but even then there's a WIDE berth between the Intel/AMD/ARM chips in computers/phones vs the much simpler IC's in your car's key-fob.
Perskovite is a mineral that was discovered in the Ural mountains of Russia, and Perskovite cells have caused renewed interest in inkjet printing.
A regular Perskovite cell has about 25% solar efficiency, and printing them with inkjets can yield 17% efficiency.
I don't know if it's considered a semiconductor though.
The original pieces I read about inkjet printing of solar cells required making the "ink" from a semiconductor substance. If I'm reading this right Perskovite crystals are somewhat different from traditional semiconductors, but they have properties that can be used for photo-electrolysis, some capacitors, and LED's.
They also require doping with another material.
Doping is a process that also happens in production of traditional semiconductors.
Virtually all circuit-boards today are PCB's or printed-circuit-boards. The older methods still used in prototyping were bread-boards. In the end it's all just circuitry really, but shrinking down the size and refining the materials is how we fit these things into tiny packages. Also, Moore's Law or the shrinking of semiconductor processes has led to them being able to do more cycles-per-second in smaller and smaller packages with less heat generation.
But the beautiful thing is that if we have the knowledge we can buy cheap very-capable products and assemble them into complex functions.
For instance, the Raspberry-Pi created a new market and it was intended for teaching computer science and engineering to high-school students.
I have just finished the greenhouse structure, have just acquired a suitable tank for some fish, and some food grade plastic barrels for filtering waste water through the hydroponic medium. I'm still working on the innards of the system, but hopefully will be up and running sometime this winter.
His neighbors erected a rather large greenhouse in the shape of the half-tube aircraft hanger style. It's probably about 25-ft high, and maybe a little wider across. I think they used the "natural pond" landscape liner inside of wooden square tanks, and they have those blue barrels setup there near them as well.
I have been wrapped up in events on the ground and wasn't able to properly appreciate your substantive and well informed comment before today. 17% efficiency is much better than earlier printed solar cells. That's a very respectable output, and I'll have to look further into it. Amongst the extraordinary events of the last week is a possibility to pursue a fab lab, that I have long yearned to do, and I'll have to hope to gain more of your sound and informed counsel if I can make it happen.
I have not gained any expertise in electrical engineering, although I have interest. I, like everyone else, have picked my poison and fought the battles in front of me, which have been residential construction. Imma have to get cracking on electronics because they are critical to many applications and I am intent on getting off the Goolag archipelago, particularly as digital ID is going to transform the surveillance data into a weapon to control us. I am averse to slavery, and will either end up a Luddite or rolling my own, and I'd prefer to maintain the blessings of modern civilization.
I have a lot less greenhouse and while I considered using a pond liner for the fish, the IBS totes are pretty common here, and I think will work well. Recently I was gifted on and hope to use it for the purpose.
I very much appreciate our discussion, and I hope to gain the benefit of your interest and consideration going forward, if you don't mind me asking about stuff down the road.