the phenomenon in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junction of two dissimilar materials, as a metal and a semiconductor, induces the generation of an electromotive force.
British Dictionary definitions for photovoltaic effect
photovoltaic effect
noun
the effect observed when electromagnetic radiation, esp visibile light from the sun, falls on a thin film of one solid deposited on the surface of a dissimilar solid producing a difference in potential between the two materials
