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Consider the following critical minerals :
I. Neodymium
II. Tellurium
III. Dysprosium
IV. Gallium
Which of the above minerals are not used for the production of photovoltaic cells used in solar panels?
Explanation
Photovoltaic (PV) cells rely on specific semiconductor materials to convert sunlight into electricity. Tellurium (II) is a vital component in Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar cells. Gallium (IV) is used in high-efficiency solar technologies such as Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) cells. In contrast, Neodymium (I) and Dysprosium (III) are Rare Earth Elements (REEs) used primarily to manufacture high-strength permanent magnets. These magnets are critical for the generators in wind turbines and motors in electric vehicles (EVs), but they are not used in the semiconductor layers or the direct production of photovoltaic cells for solar panels. Therefore, minerals I and III are the ones not used in PV cell production.