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Unit 4 2014 Introduction To PV
Unit 4 2014 Introduction To PV
Unit 4 – Introduction to
Photovoltaics
Aim
The aim of this unit is to explore the processes involved in converting sunlight into
electricity using semiconductors. It describes how efficiently this process can be
done, the underlying principles of pn junction solar cells, and losses inherent to solar
cell operation.
Learning Outcomes
Derive an expression for the maximum power operating point of an ideal solar
cell
Explain in qualitative terms what happens to a solar cell when the temperature
or the radiation intensity changes
Draw a schematic diagram showing the design and materials used in a typical
PV cell
Unit 4 Contents
Page No.
The three mechanisms described above and shown below in Figure 1, are provided
by the semiconductor p-n junction, which is the classical model of a solar cell. In this
system, electrons are excited across the band gap of a semiconductor, and charge
separation is achieved by a charged p-n junction between layers of semiconductor of
different electronic properties. Although in this lecture only the solid state p-n
junction will be considered, the principles apply equally to other types of photo-
converter based on other types of junction. To understand how a semiconductor
solar cell works, it is important to first have an understanding of semiconductors and
how they interact with light.
Excited state
Means of
charge
separation
Ground state
Figure 1. Excitation, Separation and Transport.
4.2 SEMICONDUCTORS
4.2.1 Introduction
A semiconductor is characterised by a range of forbidden energies for electrons,
known as the band gap, which separates valence band states, which are normally
full, from conduction band states, which are normally empty. Materials with a band
gap in the region of 1 eV are known as semiconductors, because their conductivity is
strongly affected by temperature and purity due to the bandgap, as opposed to
insulators that are wider band gap materials, which seldom or never conduct. The
bandgap itself is also temperature dependent such that at T = 0 an intrinsic
semiconductor is an insulator.
The band gap arises from a crystal structure where all valence electrons are used in
bonding, leaving no electrons freely available for conduction (i.e. an empty
conduction band). The atoms in crystalline silicon, for example, form a tetrahedral
structure where all four valence electrons are used in bonds with neighbouring Si
atoms. Imperfect crystals that contain broken bonds – for instance at surfaces or
grain boundaries – or impurity atoms may have energy states in the band gap that
also affect the semiconductor behaviour.
Bandgap ~1 eV
Valence band
Eg kT
np ni2 Nc N v e
where Nc, Nv are the densities of states in the conduction and valence bands and,
like Eg, are properties of the material. ni is known as the intrinsic carrier density.
n p ni
Eg kT
np ni2 Nc N v e
E E f
c
n Nc e
kT
E E v
f
p N v e kT
Note. The carrier concentration varies with the distance between the
conduction/valence band edge (Ec/Ev) and the Fermi Energy.
The band gap is important because it enables excited electrons to remain in higher
energy levels for long enough to be exploited to form electric current. If electrons
were simply promoted through a continuum of energy levels as in a metal, for
example, they would very quickly decay back down to their ground state through a
series of intermediate levels. The abundance of empty levels at intermediate energy
means that the probability of an exited electron being scattered to a lower energy
state within the thermal energy kT of the original level is high. At room temperature,
this ‘thermalization’ of carriers to the band edge occurs in femtoseconds. When an
electron is excited across a band gap, it quickly decays to the lowest energy state in
the conduction band (the conduction band edge) but the next stage - decay across
the band gap to a vacant site in the valence band - is much slower.
~fs
c. b.
~s
v. b.
~fs
semiconductor
I
Transmitted
Absorbed photogeneration
thermalization
Reflected
x
Figure 5. Absorption, Reflection and Transmission.
Where Φ(λ) = number of incident photons per second per unit area.
hc 1.24
max m
E g E g eV
1.00E+06
8.00E+05
Absorption (cm^-1)
6.00E+05
GaAs
4.00E+05 Si
2.00E+05
0.00E+00
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Photon Energy (eV)
Generation of an e-h pair merely requires that an electron be excited from valence to
conduction band. It doesn’t depend upon the energy of that photon, except in that
the energy must at least be equal to the band gap. When photons of energy greater
than the bandgap are absorbed, they generate electron-hole pairs with higher kinetic
energy, but that energy is quickly lost through thermalization, and only Eg of potential
energy remains to be collected. Once promoted, electrons may either be transported
or recombined.
In the absence of any mechanism to separate the charges, this process of photo-
generation will normally be followed by recombination. Recombination may be
radiative (the return of an electron to a vacant valence band state together with the
emission of a photon) or non-radiative (the electron decays via defect states in the
band gap and its energy is given up as phonons, i.e. heat). In poor quality material
with high defect density, non-radiative recombination can be very fast. The trick of
the photovoltaic device is to collect and transport the excited electron before it
recombines.
c. b.
v. b .
Figure 7. Recombination.
Mobile electrons and holes are transported within the semiconductor by two
mechanisms: they diffuse, or spread out, along concentration gradients; and they drift
under the influence of an electric field. Drift is the process by which carriers move,
when a potential difference is applied to the sample, in order to reduce their electrical
potential energy. Diffusion is the rearrangement of electrons or holes to equalise the
concentration and reduce the statistical potential energy. In the absence of both
concentration gradient and electric field there is no net movement of carriers.
4.2.3 Doping
Another way of increasing the population of mobile electrons and holes is to
introduce impurity atoms that contribute more, or fewer, electrons to the crystal than
the native atoms. This process is known as doping. ‘Donor’ atoms contribute extra
electrons that are less well bound than the usual valence electrons, since they are
not needed in bonding. Less energy is required to promote one of these donor
electrons into the conduction band and, consequently, the donor states can be
represented as states in the band gap (see Figure 8 below). Semiconductors doped
with donor atoms are called n-type since they have an excess of negative carriers
over positive.
‘Acceptors’ are atoms that contribute too few electrons to the lattice and therefore,
which with little energy can trap an electron to release vacancies or holes into the
valence band. Acceptor states also appear as states in the band gap close to the
valence band edge (Figure 8). These p-type semiconductors contain an excess of
positive carriers, holes.
A useful quantity for describing the concentration of electrons and holes at any point
in the semiconductor is the Fermi energy Ef, which is the centre energy of the
symmetric Fermi probability function, which dictates the probability of electrons and
holes occupying the energy states in the conduction and valence bands. As the
Fermi probability is symmetric, the Fermi energy position in the band gap governs the
relative concentrations of electron and holes in the conduction and valence bands. In
an intrinsic (i.e. pure) semiconductor, Ef lies roughly in the middle of the band gap,
there are equal electron and hole concentrations. In n-type material, Ef lies closer to
Ec, so there are more electrons, and in p-type material Ef lies closer to Ev. so there
are more holes.
n Nc e Ec Ef kT and
p N v e Ef Ev kT
When the semiconductor is not at equilibrium, e.g. when exposed to light or electrical
bias, then the populations of n and p are disturbed from their equilibrium values.
These disturbances can be described in terms of quasi Fermi levels for n and p, Efn
and Efp such that
E fp E v kT
n Nc e Ec Efn kT and p N v e
But Efn and Efp are no longer equal due to the non-equilibrium situation.
Efp < Ef
p0 holes >>p0 holes
n
Jn Drift Diffusion q nn nkT
x
μv = mobility (cm2v-1s-1)
n = carrier concentration (cm-3)
ξ = electric field (vm-1)
q = electronic charge = 1.6 x 10-19C
Earlier we also noted that carrier concentration can be expressed in terms of the
Fermi energy:
Ec E f
n Nc exp
kT
Which, by differention and substitution into the current equation, leads to relation
between the gradient of the Fermi energy and current.
n n E c E f
x kT x x
n E f
qE
kT x
E
Jn n n f
x
Therefore:
E f
0
x
E f
Jp pp 0
x
kT NdNa
Vbi ln
q n2
i
By applying an external electrical bias we can raise the Fermi level on one side with
respect to the other and vary the potential drop across the junction.
1
2 N N d 2
w a Vbi
q NaNd
Where Na and Nd are the densities of the acceptor and donor atoms on either side of
the junction.
o r o 8.85 10 12 Fm 1 r 10
At reverse bias, the depletion region is depleted of carriers and only a small number
of carriers reach the junction, where they are pulled across by the electric field. This
reverse or leakage current saturates at some value Io (see Figure 13 overleaf). For
an ideal diode the dark current-voltage behaviour is described by:
Idark Io e qV kT 1
Current
Bias
p-type
-
+
n-type
hfEg
Figure 14. Photo Current Flow.
Spectral Response (SR) is the amps of electricity delivered to an external circuit per
watt of incident light of a given energy. It is a property of the material and of the
device structure but does not depend on the incident spectrum. Therefore, it is a key
quantity in predicting solar cell performance under different conditions. A related
quantity is the Quantum Efficiency (QE), which is the probability that an incident
photon of energy E will deliver one electron to the external circuit.
SR depends upon the absorption coefficient of the solar cell material and the
efficiency of current transport in the device. At long wavelengths, SR is zero
because low energy photons are not absorbed. At short wavelengths, SR falls off
because although photons are absorbed the carriers are generated too close to the
front surface, and too far from the junction, to be separated and collected. At
intermediate wavelengths, the SR should be high, limited only by the reflectivity of
the device. A good solar cell has an SR that is well matched to the solar spectrum.
Irradiance or SR
AM1.5
SR of GaAs cell
0 1 2 3 4 5
Photon energy (eV)
Figure 15. Spectral Response of GaAs Cell Compared to the Solar Spectrum.
The overall current voltage response of the cell can be approximated as the sum of
the photo-current and the dark current. If we choose the sign convention that photo-
current is positive, the cell current is:
I IL Io e qV kT 1
or, in terms of current density J = I/A
J JL Jo e qV kT 1
This is known as the ideal diode equation2. The equivalent circuit is a current
generator in parallel with a diode.
1
Current density J and current I are often used almost interchangeably in equations, but it should be remembered
that they are different due to the area (A), i.e. I=JA. Current density is a useful factor because it allows the
performance of different sized PV devices to be compared independently of the area of the device.
2
Often the opposite sign convention is used for the diode equation both in the literature and text books. You
should always be care to keep track of which convention is being used when referring to multiple sources.
Dark current
Light current
Current
Bias
The operating regime of the solar cell is the regime (bias in the range 0 to Voc) in
which the cell delivers power. The cell power density P = JV reaches a maximum at
the cell’s operating point or Maximum Power Point (MPP). This occurs at some
voltage VMPP with a corresponding current IMPP.
or
qV
P VIL VIo exp 1
kT
I
IV V
dP
dV V
I
I V 0
V
I
IMPP VMPP
V
qV
dI I q
0 e kT
dV V kT
qVMPP qV
IMPP I0 exp MPP
kT kT
qVMPP
IMPP IL Io e kT 1
qVMPP
but since e kT 1
qVMPP
IMPP IL Io e kT
qVMPP
e kT IL IMPP
Io
By equating the equations for IMPP from above we have the relation:
qVMPP qVMPP
qVMPP kT I I e kT
Io e L o
kT
qVMPP
e kT I qVMPP I I
o o L
kT
qVMPP
kT IL
e
Io qVMPP 1
kT
qVMPP IL 1
ln
kT Io qVMPP 1
kT
kT IL kT qVMPP
VMPP ln
q ln kT 1
q Io
From the solar cell equation it can be shown (see later) that:
kT IL
Voc ln
q Io
kT qVMPP
VMPP Voc ln 1
q kT
qVMPP
Now by using the earlier results e kT IL IMPP and
Io
I q qV
IMPP o VMPP exp( MPP )
kT kT
qVMPP
IMPP IL IMPP
kT
kT
IMPP IL 1
qVMPP
I V
FF MPP MPP
IL Voc
Maximum power:
PMPP VMPPIMPP
(Area of rectangle)
VMPP
RL
I MPP
Maximum
Jsc power point
Jm
Current
Power
Vm Voc
Bias
Figure 17. Current-voltage and power-voltage curves.
4.3.10 Efficiency
The efficiency of the cell is the power density delivered at operating point as a
fraction of the incident light power density:
J MPPVMPP
Pinc
Efficiency is related to Jsc and Voc using the fill factor, FF,
J scVoc FF
Pinc
All of these quantities should be defined for a particular spectrum. Under different
spectra, the photo-current and therefore the I-V characteristic will be different. The
Standard Test Condition (STC) for solar cells is the Air Mass 1.5 spectrum, an
incident power density of 1,000 W cm-2, and a temperature of 25 C. [Cell
performance characteristics are published in the journal Progress in Photovoltaics
and on the World Wide Web at http://www.pv.unsw.edu.au/eff.html.]
Jsc at STC is around 20 - 40 mA cm-2, again depending on the material. Wider band
gap materials give higher Voc but lower Jsc, and vice versa for low band gaps. The
optimum band gap for the AM1.5 solar spectrum is around 1.3 - 1.4 eV.
The ideal diode has a FF of 0.86, while for real cells, values are typically 0.7 to 0.8.
The efficiency of a solar cell in AM1.5 has a theoretical limit of around 31%. In
practice, efficiencies are much lower. The best cell has = 25%, while commercial
modules typically have = 15 %. Achieving high performance with solar cells
demands high material quality, which is generally costly.
Shaded by Reflected
contacts Rs
n
Rsh
p
Not absorbed
Recombination through trap states in the band gap affects the dependence of the
dark current on the applied bias. The effect can be represented as a change in the
exponent of the term I o (e 1) to I o (e
qV / kT
1) where m is the diode ideality
qV / mkT
m=1
m=2
Current
Bias
Figure 19. Effect on I-V curve of higher ideality factor.
In addition, a shunt or parallel resistance (Rsh) arises from leakage of current through
the cell, around the edges of the device and between contacts of different polarity.
Series and shunt resistances reduce the fill factor, as shown overleaf in Figures 20
and 21. For an efficient cell we want Rs to be as small and Rsh to be as large as
possible.
Low Rs
Moderate Rs
Current
High Rs
Bias
Figure 20. Effect of Series Resistance.
High Rsh
Moderate Rsh
Low Rsh
Current
Bias
J J photo J o e q V JARs kT 1
V JARs
Rsh
Rs
+
Rsh V
Jphoto Jdark
-
Figure 22. Equivalent circuit for non-ideal diode.
At higher temperature the band gap of a semiconductor shrinks. This increases the
equilibrium population of electrons and, hence, the dark saturation current density Jo.
The reduced band gap also increases the photo-current, since lower energy photons
can now be absorbed, but the increased dark current reduces Voc faster than Jsc is
increased, and a net reduction in efficiency results. The effects of temperature on
the I-V curve can be seen below in Figure 23.
Current
Temp
Bias
For a silicon solar cell, the short circuit current, open circuit voltage and the efficiency
are as follows:
dJ sc
0.1Am 2 C 1
dT
dVoc
2.2mV C 1
dT
efficiency:
d
0.5%C 1
dT
4.4.5.2 Irradiation
Increasing the intensity of the incident light increases the photo-current. It is fair to
assume that the short circuit current Jsc varies linearly with concentration factor up to
high irradiation levels. At the same time, increasing intensity increases the open
circuit voltage. If we rearrange the ideal diode equation to obtain an expression for
Voc:
kT J sc
Voc ln 1
q Jo
increasing
intensity
maximum
power line
Current
Bias
Figure 24. J-V curve at different intensities.
All of this depends upon the cell temperature remaining constant under irradiation. In
fact, unless we deliberately cool the cell (which requires work), concentration
inevitably raises the temperature. The positive effect of irradiation then competes
with the negative effects of series resistance and temperature, so that the cell has an
optimum efficiency at some finite concentration. This is seldom more than a few
hundred suns.
textured surface
front
AR coat
contact
front
emitter n Si
contact
base p Si
rear contact
Silicon cells are generally prepared by diffusing a shallow layer of phosphorus (an n-
type dopant) on to a wafer of lightly p-type silicon. The cell thickness is 50-150
microns, as silicon is a weak optical absorber. Performance is improved by
passivating the cell surface to reduce recombination, and by surface treatment to
maximise the absorption of light. The best lab-efficiency obtained with a silicon solar
cell is 25%, and 18 - 22% in mass production depending on the device technology
used. Polycrystalline silicon is cheaper to produce but delivers a lower efficiency
(around 18 - 20% in the best cells).
Other crystalline materials include GaAs, which as a direct bandgap material absorbs
more strongly and has a band gap better matched to AM1.5 and a higher theoretical
efficiency. Indium phosphide is also radiation resistant and performs well in extra-
terrestrial conditions. The use of additional alloyed materials (e.g. AlGaAs, GaInP,
GaInAs etc) allow bandgap engineering and the production of multi-junction cells
capable of efficiencies over 44%. These materials are less well developed and still
more costly to produce, so the efficiency advantages are only cost effective in
specialised applications, such as in space where GaAs based solar cells dominate.
(The Mars rover was powered by GaAs solar cells!).
‘Thin film’ solar cell materials include amorphous silicon, Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)
and Copper Indium Diselenide (CIS). Amorphous silicon has been the base material
for inexpensive consumer PV products such as solar powered calculators, but suffers
from material degradation (Staebler-Wronski effect), which may inhibit its use in
higher power applications. CdTe and CIS are promising materials for mass
production as relatively efficient solar cells (lab efficiencies: CdTe 19.6%, CIS 20.4%)
can be produced by low cost deposition methods such as Close Space Sublimation
(CSS) adopted by First Solar in production, sputtering and electro-deposition.
However, currently the main problem is the gap between lab efficiencies and
production efficiencies (CdTe 16%, CIS 15%) combined with production yield issues.
Better efficiencies and yield are expected in future. Advances in materials science
are bringing up many more potential new materials for PV such as organic (11%) and
perovskite (15%).
The p-i-n junction, where a layer of intrinsic material is embedded between the
two doped regions, thus, extending the region of the built in electric field. This
is used in triple junction solar cells or Heterojucntion with Intrinsc Thin layer
(HIT) cells.
P-n heterojunctions, where the material composition and, hence, the band gap
is varied across the junction. These are used to reduce recombination losses in
high absorption materials.
All of these areas will be discussed in more detail in the Advanced Solar module.