PV Semiconductors

Chapter 2
Semiconductors for Photovoltaics
03-Sep-17 TU,IOE, Pashchimancha Campus/BG 1

Solar cells are semiconductor devices
How PV Cells Work that produce electricity from sunlight via the photovoltaic effect.
Sunlight strikes the cell, photons with energy above the semiconductor bandgap
A typical silicon PV cell is composed impart enough energy to create electron-hole pairs.
of a thin wafer consisting of an ultra-
thin layer of phosphorus-doped (N- A junction between dissimilarly doped semiconductor layers sets up a potential
barrier in the cell, which separates the light-generated charge carriers.
type) silicon on top of a thicker layer
of boron-doped (P-type) silicon. This separation induces a fixed electric current and voltage in the device. The
electricity is collected and transported by metallic contacts on the top and bottom
An electrical field is created near the surfaces of
the cell.
top surface of the cell where these two
materials are in contact, called the
P-N junction.
When sunlight strikes the surface of a

PV cell, this electrical field provides
momentum and direction to light-
stimulated electrons, resulting in a
flow of current when the solar cell is
connected to an electrical load.
Diagram of photovoltaic cell.

PV systems are like any other electrical power generating systems, just the equipment used is different
than that used for conventional electromechanical generating systems.
2.1 P-N Junction for Solar Cells
SOLAR CELLS ....are semiconductor building elements with a p-n junction with
which sunlight is directly converted into electrical energy.
Electrons are conducting, when they are in conduction band
Holes are conducting, when they are in Valance band
The average energy of electrons or holes is given by a level called fermi level.

Semiconductor materials
• Semiconductors are crystalline materials whose outer shell atomic levels exhibit
an energy band structure with an energy gap between valence and conduction
bands of the order of 1eV .
a conductor a semiconductor an insulator

Band Gap
• The band gap is the minimum amount of energy
required for an electron to break free of its bound
state (valance band).
• When the band gap energy is met, the electron is
excited into a free state(conduction band), and can
therefore participate in conduction.
• The band gap determines how much energy is
needed from the sun for conduction, as well as
how much energy is generated.
• A hole is created where the electron was formerly
bound. This hole also participates in conduction.

• The highest energy band is the conduction band. Electrons in this region are
detached from their parent atoms and are free to roam about the entire crystal. The
electrons in the valence band levels are more tightly bound and remain associated to
their respective lattice atoms.
• In conductors, the energy gap is nonexistent, while in insulators the gap is large.
For a conductor, the absence of a band gap makes it very easy for thermally excited
electrons to jump into the conduction band where they are free to move around the
crystal. A current will therefore flow when an electric field is applied. In a
semiconductor, the energy gap is intermediate in size such that only few electrons
are excited into the conduction band through thermal excitation. When an electric
field is applied, a small current is observed. However, if the semiconductor is
cooled, almost all electrons will fall into the valence band and the conductivity of
the semiconductor will decrease.

Charge Carriers in Semiconductors
• The excitation of electron to conduction due to photon absorption is usually referred to as
carrier generation.
• While the falling back of an excited electron to valance band ground state is referred to as
carrier recombination.
• When light shines on a solar cell, photovoltage is generated. The generated voltage across
the solar cell drives the current in an external circuit and, therefore, can deliver power.
• In order to collect the energy of a photon in the form of electrical energy through solar cells
(a) increase in the potential energy of carriers (generation of electron-hole pair) and (b)
separation of charge carriers.
• On absorption of a photon, the difference in energy level results in an increase in the
potential energy of electrons and keeps the excited electrons in the higher energy level. This
increases the probability of charge separation.
Silicon Shared electrons
Si Si Si
Si Si Si
Si Si Si
-
 Silicon is group IV element – with 4 electrons in their valence shell.

 When silicon atoms are brought together, each atom forms covalent bond with 4 silicon
atoms in a tetrahedron geometry.
 At 0 ºK, each electron is in its lowest energy state so each covalent bond
position is filled. If a small electric field is applied to the material, no
electrons will move because they are bound to their individual atoms.
=> At 0 ºK, silicon is an insulator.
 As temperature increases, the valence electrons gain thermal energy. If a
valence electron gains enough energy (Eg), it may break its covalent bond
and move away from its original position. This electron is free to move
within the crystal.
 Conductor Eg < 0.1 eV, many electrons can be thermally excited at room
temperature.
 Semiconductor Eg ~1 eV, a few electrons can be excited (e.g. 1/billion)
 Insulator, Eg > 3-5 eV, essentially no electron can be thermally excited at
room temperature.
Intrinsic semiconductor: also called an undoped semiconductor or i-type semiconductor, is a
pure semiconductor without any significant dopant species present. The number of charge
carriers is therefore determined by the properties of the material itself instead of the amount of
impurities. In intrinsic semiconductors the number of excited electrons and the number of holes
are equal: n = p.
Extrinsic Semiconductor, n-type Doping
Conducting band, Ec
Si Si Si
Extra
Ed ~ 0.05 eV
Electron
Si As Si Eg = 1.1 eV
Si Si - Si
Valence band, Ev
 Doping silicon lattice with group V elements creates extra electrons in

the conduction band — negative charge carriers (n-type), As- donor.
 Doping concentration #/cm3 (1016/cm3 ~ 1/million).
Extrinsic Semiconductor, p-type doping
Conducting band, Ec
Si Si Si
Hole
Eg = 1.1 eV
Si B Si
Ea ~ 0.05 eV
Si Si - Si
Valence band, Ev
Electron
 Doping silicon with group III elements creates empty holes in the
conduction band — positive charge carriers (p-type), B-(acceptor).
p-n Junctions
• p-n junctions are created from the contact

of p-type and n-type semiconductors.
• Prior to contact, EF is higher on the n side.
• Upon contact, electrons flow from the n
side to the p side, until EF is constant
across the interface.
• An electric potential (ΔV) develops across
the interface, and raises the energy on the
p side as higher energy orbitals are filled
(ΔE = -eΔV).
(J.W. Morris)
13
• When light shines on a solar cell, a large no. of electron hole pairs are created. The
generated electrons tend to flow from P-side to N-side, the generated holes tend to flow
from N-side to P-side, resulting in the separation of charge carriers which can flow in
the external circuit to the load. In this way, use of P-N junction makes it possible to
convert light energy into electrical energy.
Conduction band states of lowest energy: ECBM (conduction band minimum)

Valence band states of highest energy: EVBM (valence band maximum)
Size of band gap: Egap= ECBM - EVBM
p-n Junction (p-n diode)
p n
I
V
i R O F
depletion layer
p n p n
V<0 - + V>0 V>0 V<0
Reverse bias Forward bias
 A p-n junction is a junction formed by combining p-type and n-type

semiconductors together in very close contact.
 In p-n junction, the current is only allowed to flow along one direction
from p-type to n-type materials.
I-V and P-V Characteristics:
PV cells can be modeled as a current source in parallel with a diode. When there is no light
present to generate any current, the PV cell behaves like a diode. As the intensity of incident
light increases, current is generated by the PV cell, as illustrated in the figure below.
In an ideal cell, the total current I is equal to the current Iℓ generated by the photoelectric effect
minus the diode current ID, according to the equation:

where I0 is the saturation current of the diode, q is the elementary charge 1.6x10-19 Coulombs,
k is a constant of value 1.38x10-23 J/K, T is the cell temperature in Kelvin, and V is the
measured cell voltage that is either produced (power quadrant) or applied (voltage bias).
Expanding the equation gives the simplified circuit model shown below and the following
associated equation, where n is the diode ideality factor (typically between 1 and 2), and RS
and RSH represents the series and shunt resistances.

The I-V curve of an illuminated PV cell has the shape shown in the figure below, as the
voltage across the measuring load is swept from zero to VOC, and many performance
parameters for the cell can be determined from this data.

Short Circuit Current (ISC)
The short circuit current ISC corresponds to the short circuit condition when the impedance is low and
is calculated when the voltage equals 0.
I (at V=0) = ISC
ISC occurs at the beginning of the forward-bias sweep and is the maximum current value in the power
quadrant. For an ideal cell, this maximum current value is the total current produced in the solar cell
by photon excitation.
ISC = IMAX = Iℓ for forward-bias power quadrant
Open Circuit Voltage (VOC)
The open circuit voltage (VOC) occurs when there is no current passing through the cell.
V (at I=0) = VOC
VOC is also the maximum voltage difference across the cell for a forward-bias sweep in the power
quadrant.
VOC= VMAX for forward-bias power quadrant
Maximum Power (PMAX), Current at PMAX (IMP), Voltage at PMAX (VMP)
The power produced by the cell in Watts can be easily calculated along the I-V sweep by the
equation P=IV. At the ISC and VOC points, the power will be zero and the maximum value
for power will occur between the two. The voltage and current at this maximum power
point are denoted as VMP and IMP respectively.

Fill Factor (FF)
The Fill Factor (FF) is essentially a measure of quality of the solar cell. It is calculated by
comparing the maximum power to the theoretical power (PT) that would be output at both the
open circuit voltage and short circuit current together. FF can also be interpreted graphically as
the ratio of the rectangular areas depicted in the figure below.
A larger fill factor is

desirable, and
corresponds to an I-V
sweep that is more
square-like. Typical
fill factors range from
0.5 to 0.82. Fill factor
is also often
represented as a
percentage.

Efficiency (η)
Efficiency is the ratio of the electrical power output Pout, compared to the solar power input,
Pin, into the PV cell. Pout can be taken to be PMAX since the solar cell can be operated up to its
maximum power output to get the maximum efficiency.
Pin is taken as the product of the irradiance of the incident light, measured in W/m2 or in suns
(1000 W/m2), with the surface area of the solar cell [m2]. The maximum efficiency (ηMAX)
found from a light test is not only an indication of the performance of the device under test,
but, like all of the I-V parameters, can also be affected by ambient conditions such as
temperature and the intensity and spectrum of the incident light. For this reason, it is
recommended to test and compare PV cells using similar lighting and temperature conditions.

Model of PV Cell
Different electronic processes occurring in a p-n
homojunction solar cell is shown in the adjoining
figure.
Region 1: It contains one of the contacts between
the p-n junction and the wire to take out the
current.
Region 2: It indicates the transition of an electron
from the valence band to the conduction band, after
an electron-hole pair generation, on receiving
energy from external sources. The number of
electron-hole pair depends on the intensity of
illumination and the optical absorption coefficient
α. The electron diffuses through the material but
loses energy and goes back to the valence band
where it recombines with a hole.
Region 3: The electrons and holes are transported across the junction to form a potential
barrier which then stops further movement.
Region 4: Only drift of charges occur here.
Region 5: Surface recombination takes place near the front contact.
Power is lost in these regions and is represented by a series resistance. It is given by;
Rs=Rcp+Rbp+Rcn+Rbn
Where, Rcp= Resistance of contacts between wires and ‗p‘ materials
Rcn= Resistance of contacts between wires and ‗n‘ materials
Rbp= Bulk resistance of ‗p‘ semiconductor
Rbn= Bulk resistance of ‗n‘ semiconductor
The inherent loss of current in a solar cell due to recombination is represented by a

resistance Rp parallel to the current source diode.

So a ‗practical‘ solar cell is modeled as shown in the diagram below.
Isc
Rp
Equation representing the relation between current and voltage;
For a standard (25◦C) cell temperature,

Unfortunately, the equation is a complex equation for which there is no explicit solution for
either voltage V or current I.
A spreadsheet solution approach is followed which enables a graph of I versus V to be
obtained easily. The approach is based on incrementing values of diode voltage, Vd, in the
spreadsheet. For each value of Vd, corresponding values of current I and voltage V can
easily be found.
In the equivalent circuit of solar cell,
Rearranging and substituting, we get;
With an assumed value of Vd in a spreadsheet, current I can be found. Voltage across an

individual cell then can be found from,
V = Vd −IRS

Effect of Series and Shunt Resistance in Solar Cell Capacity

Effect of Temperature
Like all other semiconductor devices, solar cells are sensitive to temperature. Increases in
temperature reduce the band gap of a semiconductor, thereby effecting most of the semiconductor
material parameters. The decrease in the band gap of a semiconductor with increasing
temperature can be viewed as increasing the energy of the electrons in the material. Lower energy
is therefore needed to break the bond. In the bond model of a semiconductor band gap, reduction
in the bond energy also reduces the band gap. Therefore increasing the temperature reduces the
band gap.
In a solar cell, the parameter most affected by an increase in temperature is the open-circuit
voltage. The impact of increasing temperature is shown in the figure below.
- Photovoltaics, perhaps surprisingly, therefore perform better on cold, clear days than hot ones.
- For crystalline silicon cells, VOC drops by about 0.37% for each degree Celsius increase in
temperature, ISC increases by approximately 0.05% and maximum power available decreases
by 0.5%
- Given this significant shift in performance as cell temperature changes, it should be quite
apparent that temperature needs to be included in any estimate of module performance.
Cells vary in temperature not only because ambient temperatures change, but also because
insolation on the cells changes. Since only a small fraction of the insolation hitting a
module is converted to electricity and carried away, most of that incident energy is absorbed
and converted to heat. To help system designers account for changes in cell performance
with temperature, manufacturers often provide an indicator called the NOCT, which stands
for nominal operating cell temperature. The NOCT is cell temperature in a module when
ambient is 20◦C, solar irradiation is 0.8 kW/m2, and wind speed is 1 m/s. To account for
other ambient conditions, the following expression is used:
where Tcell is cell temperature (◦C), Tamb is ambient temperature, and S is solar insolation
(kW/m2).

Current-voltage characteristic curves under various cell temperatures and
irradiance levels for the Kyocera KC120-1 PV module

Examples of PV Module Performance Data Under Standard Test Conditions
(1 kW/m2, AM 1.5, 25◦ C cell Temperature)

Example
Estimate cell temperature, open-circuit voltage, and maximum power output for the 150-W
BP2150S module under conditions of 1-sun insolation and ambient temperature 30°C. The
module has a NOCT of 47◦C.
Solution. Using S = 1 kW/m2, cell temperature is estimated to be;
From manufacturer data, for this module at the standard temperature of 25°C, VOC = 42.8 V.
Since VOC drops by 0.37%/°C, the new VOC will be about;
With maximum power expected to drop about 0.5%/◦C, this 150-W module at its maximum
power point will deliver-

When the NOCT is not given, another approach to estimating cell temperature is based on
the following:
where γ is a proportionality factor that depends on wind speed and how well ventilated the
modules are when installed. Typical values of γ range between 25◦C and 35◦C; that is, in 1
sun of insolation, cells tend to be 25–35◦C hotter than their environment.

Cells to Module to Array
 An individual cell produces only about 0.5 V, it is a very small value for any
application.
 The basic building block for PV applications is a module consisting of a number
of pre-wired cells in series, all encased in tough, weather-resistant packages. A typical
module has 36 cells in series and is often designated as a ―12-V module‖ even though
it is capable of delivering much higher voltages than that.
 Some 12-V modules have only 33 cells, which, as will be seen later may, be desirable
in certain very simple battery charging systems. Large 72-cell modules are now quite
common, some of which have all of the cells wired in series, in which case they are
referred to as 24-V modules. Some 72-cell modules can be field-wired to act either as
24-V modules with all 72 cells in series or as 12-V modules with two parallel strings
having 36 series cells in each.

Multiple modules can be wired in series to increase voltage and in parallel to increase
current, the product of which is power. An important element in PV system design is
deciding how many modules should be connected in series and how many in parallel to
deliver whatever energy is needed. Such combinations of modules are referred to as an
array. Figure below shows this distinction between cells, modules, and arrays.

With the formation of module, efficiency gets reduces for the following reasons;
1) Interconnection between cells, with wires, introducing resistance
2) Absorption in the potting medium used to hold the cells in place
3) Solar cell mismatch which confines the module current to that of the weakest cell
4) Reduction in the radiation amount due to the reflection and absorption by the protective
glass sheet on top
5) The packing factor, especially if the cells are circular
- the entire area of the module is not covered by the solar cells and there are large gaps
between the adjacent cells.
Packing density or the packing factor: The packing density of solar cells in a PV module
refers to the area of the module that is covered with solar cells compared to that which is
blank. The packing density affects the output power of the module as well as its operating
temperature. The packing density depends on the shape of the solar cells used. For
example, single crystalline solar cells are round or semi-square, while multicrystalline
silicon wafers are usually square. Therefore, if single-crystalline solar cells are not cut
squarely, the packing density of a single crystalline module will be lower than that of a
multicrystalline module.
The packing factor, βc,
It is clear that βc is less than unity. Its value is 1 only when the space is filled with the
rectangular cells.

From Cells to a Module
When photovoltaics are wired in series, they all carry the same current, and at any given
current their voltages add as shown in the figure below. We can use the general equation
for solar cell to find an overall module voltage Vmodule.
Example Voltage and Current from a PV Module

A PV module is made up of 36 identical cells, all wired in series. With 1-sun insolation (1
kW/m2), each cell has short-circuit current ISC =3.4 A and at 25◦C its reverse saturation
current is I0 =6×10−10 A. Parallel resistance RP =6.6 Ω and series resistance RS =0.005.
Find the voltage, current, and power delivered when the junction voltage of each cell is
0.50 V.

Solution
Using Vd =0.50 V along with the other data gives current:
So the voltage produced by the 36-cell module,
Power delivered is,

From Modules to Arrays
- Modules can be wired in series to increase voltage, and in parallel to increase current.
- Arrays are made up of some combination of series and parallel modules to increase power.
For modules in series, the I –V curves are simply added along the voltage axis. That is, at
any given current (which flows through each of the modules), the total voltage is just the
sum of the individual module voltages.
Modules in Series
For modules in parallel, the same voltage is across each module and the total current
is the sum of the currents. That is, at any given voltage, the I –V curve of the parallel
combination is just the sum of the individual module currents at that voltage.
Modules in Parallel
When high power is needed,
the array will usually consist
of a combination of series and
parallel modules for which the
total I –V curve is the sum of
the individual module I –V
curves.
There are two ways of wiring

a series/parallel combination
of modules: The series
modules may be wired as
strings, and the strings wired
in parallel as in Fig. a, or the
parallel modules may be wired
together first and those units
combined in series as in b.
The total I –V curve is just the sum of the individual module curves, which is the same
in either case when everything is working right. There is a reason, however, to prefer
the wiring of strings in parallel. If an entire string is removed from service for some
reason, the array can still deliver whatever voltage is needed by the load, though the
current is diminished, which is not the case when a parallel group of modules is
removed.

Effect of Shading
Shading is the covering of the cells/module by some object blocking the insolation.
The output of a PV module can be reduced dramatically when even a small portion of it is
shaded. Unless special efforts are made to compensate for shade problems, even a single
shaded cell in a long string of cells can easily cut output power by more than half. External
diodes, purposely added by the PV manufacturer or by the system designer, can help
preserve the performance of PV modules. The main purpose for such diodes is to mitigate
the impacts of shading on PV I –V curves. Such diodes are usually added in parallel with
modules or blocks of cells within a module.
Lets consider an n-cell module with current I and output voltage V, and one cell separated
from the others (shown as the top cell, though it can be any cell in the string). The
equivalent circuit of the top cell has been drawn using while the other (n−1) cells in the
string are shown as just a module with current I and output voltage Vn−1.

In Fig. a, all of the cells are in the sun and since they are in series, the same current I flows
through each of them. In Fig. b, however, the top cell is shaded and its current source ISC
has been reduced to zero. The voltage drop across RP as current flows through it causes the
diode to be reverse biased, so the diode current is also (essentially) zero. That means the
entire current flowing through the module must travel through both RP and RS in the shaded
cell on its way to the load. That means the top cell, instead of adding to the output voltage,
actually reduces it.
Consider the case when the bottom n−1 cells still have full sun and still some how carry
their original current I so they will still produce their original voltage Vn−1. This means that
the output voltage of the entire module VSH with one cell shaded will drop to
With all n cells in the sun and carrying I, the output voltage was V so the voltage of the
bottom n−1 cells will be

Combining these two equations gives
The drop in voltage ΔV at any given current I, caused by the shaded cell, is given by
Since the parallel resistance RP is so much greater than the series resistance RS,

At any given current, the I –V curve for the module with one shaded cell drops by ΔV. The
huge impact this can have is illustrated in the figure below;
Effect of shading one cell in an n-cell module

(at any given current, module voltage drops from V to V − ΔV)
Example Impacts of Shading on a PV Module:
The 36-cell PV module has a parallel resistance per cell of Rp=6.6 Ω . In full sun and at
current I =2.14 A the output voltage was found there to be V = 19.41 V. If one cell is
shaded and this current somehow stays the same, then:
a. What would be the new module output voltage and power?
b. What would be the voltage drop across the shaded cell?
c. How much power would be dissipated in the shaded cell?
Solution:
a) The drop in module voltage is,
The new output voltage will be 19.41−14.66=4.75 V.

Power delivered by the module with one cell
For comparison, in full sun the module was producing 41.5 W.

b. All of that 2.14 A of current goes through the parallel plus series resistance (0.005
Ω) of the shaded cell, so the drop across the shaded cell will be
(normally a cell in the sun will add about 0.5 V to the module; this shaded cell
subtracts over 14 V from the module).
c. The power dissipated in the shaded cell is voltage drop times current,
All of that power dissipated in the shaded cell is converted to heat, which can cause a
local hot spot that may permanently damage the plastic laminates enclosing the cell.

These results obtained for shading of one cell can be extended to develop I –V curves under
various conditions of shading. Figure shows curves for the example module one cell 50%
shaded, one cell completely shaded, and two cells completely shaded. The dashed vertical line at
13 V is a typical operating voltage for a module charging a 12-V battery. The reduction in
charging current for even modest amounts of shading is severe. With just one cell shaded out of
36 in the module, the power delivered to the battery is decreased by about two-thirds!

‘Bypass Diodes’ and ‘Blocking Diodes’
The voltage drop problem in shaded cells could be to corrected by adding a bypass diode
across each cell, as shown in figure below. When a solar cell is in the sun, there is a
voltage rise across the cell so the bypass diode is cut off and no current flows through it—
it is as if the diode is not even there. When the solar cell is shaded, however, the drop that
would occur if the cell conducted any current would turn on the bypass diode, diverting
the current flow through that diode. The bypass diode, when it conducts, drops about 0.6
V. So, the bypass diode controls the voltage drop across the shaded cell, limiting it to a
relatively modest 0.6 V instead of the rather large drop that may occur without it.
It is impractical to add bypass diodes across every solar cell, but manufacturers often do
provide at least one bypass diode around a module to help protect arrays, and sometimes
several such diodes around groups of cells within a module. These diodes don‘t have much
impact on shading problems of a single module, but they can be very important when a
number of modules are connected in series. Just as a single cell can drag down the current
within a module, a few shaded cells in a single module can drag down the current
delivered by the entire string in an array.
Imagine five modules, wired in series, connected to a battery that forces the modules
to operate at 65 V. In full sun the modules deliver 3.3 A at 65 V.
- When any of the cells are shaded, they cease to produce voltage and instead begin
to act like resistors (6.6 Ω per cell in this example) that cause voltage to drop as
the other modules continue to try to push current through the string. Without a
bypass diode to divert the current, the shaded module loses voltage and the other
modules try to compensate by increasing voltage, but the net effect is that current
in the whole string drops.
- If, however, bypass diodes are provided, as shown in the figure in the next page,
then current will go around the shaded module and the charging current bounces
back to nearly the same level that it was before shading occurred.

The adjacent figure shows the
ability of bypass diodes to
mitigate shading when modules
are charging a 65 V battery.
(a) Normal (no shading)

conditions
(b) Without bypass diodes, a
partially shaded module
constricts the current
delivered to the load
(c) With bypass diodes, current
is diverted around the shaded
module.

When strings of modules are
wired in parallel, a similar
problem may arise when one
of the strings is not
performing well. Instead of
supplying current to the
array, a malfunctioning or
shaded string can withdraw
current from the rest of the
array. By placing blocking
diodes (also called isolation
diodes) at the top of each
string as shown in the figure,
the reverse current drawn by
a shaded string can be
prevented.

Testing of PV Module
Modules must be manufactured from specified materials

and components and subjected to manufacturer‘s quality
assurance process. All samples must be complete in every
detail and supplied with the manufacturer‘s
mounting/installation instructions.
 What constitutes a ―good quality‖ module?

 How ―reliable‖ it will be in the field?
IEC 61215 and IEC 61646 are the general standards for
testing a PV panel. Safety standards are governed by
61730.

Performance standards (IEC61215/61646)
Diagnostic: Visual inspection, Hotspot.

Electrical: Insulation resistance, Wet leakage current
Performance: Pmax at STC, Temperature coefficients, NOCT, Pmax at low irradiance.
Thermal: Bypass diode test, Hotspot.
Irradiance: Outdoor exposure, UV exposure, Light soaking.
Environmental: Temperature cycles, Humidity freeze, Damp heat.
Mechanical: Mechanical load, Robustness of terminations, Hail impact.

Safety standards IEC61730-1,2
Electrical hazards: Dielectric withstand, Ground continuity, Accessibility, Cut
susceptibility, Impulse voltage, Reverse current, Partial discharge.
Mechanical hazards: Module breakage.
Thermal hazards: Temperature test
Fire hazard: Fire resistance

Modeling and Simulation
Commercial softwares are easily available for modeling PV systems.
Required Input Data

Weather data: irradiation, temperature, wind speed
Others: Rs, Rp
Output
I, V, P
Normally, single diode model (4-parameters model) is used to model a PV cell.

PV Semiconductors

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Chapter 2

Semiconductors for Photovoltaics

03-Sep-17 TU,IOE, Pashchimancha Campus/BG 1

When sunlight strikes the surface of a

Diagram of photovoltaic cell.

Electrons are conducting, when they are in conduction band

Holes are conducting, when they are in Valance band

03-Sep-17 TU,IOE, Pashchimancha Campus/BG 4

a conductor a semiconductor an insulator

03-Sep-17 TU,IOE, Pashchimancha Campus/BG 6

03-Sep-17 TU,IOE, Pashchimancha Campus/BG 7

 Silicon is group IV element – with 4 electrons in their valence shell.

 Doping silicon lattice with group V elements creates extra electrons in

• p-n junctions are created from the contact

Conduction band states of lowest energy: ECBM (conduction band minimum)

Reverse bias Forward bias

 A p-n junction is a junction formed by combining p-type and n-type

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A larger fill factor is

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The inherent loss of current in a solar cell due to recombination is represented by a

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Equation representing the relation between current and voltage;

For a standard (25◦C) cell temperature,

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Rearranging and substituting, we get;

With an assumed value of Vd in a spreadsheet, current I can be found. Voltage across an

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Example Voltage and Current from a PV Module

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So the voltage produced by the 36-cell module,

Power delivered is,

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There are two ways of wiring

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Effect of shading one cell in an n-cell module

The new output voltage will be 19.41−14.66=4.75 V.

For comparison, in full sun the module was producing 41.5 W.

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(a) Normal (no shading)

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Modules must be manufactured from specified materials

 What constitutes a ―good quality‖ module?

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