Is there a difference in voltage/current between a solar panel with 36 individual cells or one big cell?

Question

When wiring solar cells in parallel, the current is additive but the voltage remains the same. On the other hand, when wiring solar cells in series the voltage is additive, but the current remains the same.

My question is, what would happen if you had one large solar cell that occupied the space of the entire panel (roughly the size of 36 individual solar cells, or slightly larger if you take into account the extra space that you get from not having individual cells spaced out). Would the voltage and current be roughly that of 36 cells in parallel, in series, or some different number?

Answer 1

One giant cell will act like a bunch of smaller cells in parallel. It's inherent in how it's constructed: when you parallel a bunch of cells you hook anode to anode and cathode to cathode -- that's already done in one big cell.

Answer 2

If your 36 small cells are in parallel, the two cases are roughly identical. But if they're in series, or in some combination of series and parallel, the 36 cells will produce a higher voltage at a lower current than the single giant cell.

Each individual solar cell produces a fixed voltage (for a given amount of illumination and current output), and the current depends on its area (for a given amount of illumination and voltage output). So a larger cell will produce the same voltage, but more current, as a smaller cell (again, assuming they have the same illumination and the same operating point).