A Presentation on

Solar cell

Submitted by: piyush parashar

 What is SolarEnergy?
Solar Energy originates with the thermonuclear fusion
reactions occurring in the sun.
The spectrum of solar light at the Earth's surface is mostly
spread across the visible and near infrared ranges with a small
part in the ultraviolet region.
 How much solarenergy?

• About half the incoming solar energy reaches the Earth's surface.
 Solar Energy as a Resource
Solar Energy is increasingly being used as a resource in the following areas:
▪ Agriculture
▪ Heating and Cooling
▪ Cooking
▪ Fuel Production
▪ Electricity Generation
Producing Electricity using Solar Energy
Solar Energy can be used to generate electricity in 2 ways:
▪ Thermal Solar Energy:
Using solar energy for heating fluids
which can be used as a heat source or
to run turbines to generate electricity.

▪ Photovoltaic Solar Energy:

Using solar energy for the direct generation of
electricity using photovoltaic phenomenon.
 History of solarcell
• The first practical solar cell was publicly
demonstrated on April 25, 1954 at Bell
Laboratories.

Bell Laboratories

•From 2002 we can see the modern solar

cell.
 What is a Solar Cell?

A structure that converts solar energy directly

to DC electric energy.
▪ It supplies a voltage and a current to a resistive
load
(light, battery, motor).
Power = Current x Voltage=Current2 x R=
Voltage2/R
It is like a battery because it supplies DC
power.
It is not like a battery
because the voltage supplied
by the cell changes with
changes in the resistance of
the load.
 Photovoltaic Cell Materials
Solar cell materials are generally group IV elements on the periodic table (titanium,
zirconium, hafnium, rutherfordium).

•Silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust and it is therefore
much cheaper than other semiconductor materials. Since it links well with the energy of
visible sunlight it is the dominant material used for solar cells.
•Advantages: Abundant and inexpensive to process, non-toxic, and used in
electronics so it is well studied and understood.
•Disadvantages: weak absorber of light and a band gap lower than ideals for solar
spectrum. Silicon is indirect, but it is much cheaper than other elements.
•Examples include: Amorphous silicon, monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline
silicon.
•Germanium is widely used in electronics and was the dominant material in the early
market. Now it is being combined with silicon.
•Advantages: Germanium has low impurities that can reduce cell output and can be
used in amorphous and crystalline forms.
•Disadvantage: Poor semiconductor property of indirect band gap; band gap is too
small for high efficiency cells.
•Gallium arsenide cells are multifunction cells that are more efficient than silicon but
have a high cost and toxicity.
•Advantages: Electrons have longer lifetime and generates current easily. It is more
efficient due to direct band gap.
•Disadvantages: Gallium arsenide has no natural insulating layer to prevent
impurities from shorting the cell. It is also expensive.
•Selenium is expensive and difficult to obtain and therefore too expensive for
commercial use. It is well-suited to the solar spectrum since most photons have
sufficient energy and few have too much.
Structure of a solar cell
 Solar cell Working

1/25/2013 Submitted by: Gourav Kumar

 Solar cell
Principle p-n Junction Diode:
The operation of a photovoltaic (PV) cell requires 3 basic attributes:
The absorption of light, generating either electron-hole pairs or excitons.
The separation of charge carriers of opposite types.
The separate extraction of those carriers to an external circuit.

Ref. Soft Condensed Matter physics group in

univ. of Queenland
I-V characteristics & Efficiency
in dark (diode)

under illumination

Typical I-V characteristic of solar cells

 I-V characteristics & Efficiency

As the intensity
increases, the short-
circuit current ISC
increases linearly,
but the open circuit
voltage VOC increases
sublinearly.

The I-V characteristics of a solar cell with varying

illumination as a parameter.
 I-V characteristics & Efficiency
(II) (I)

(III) (IV)

The I-Va characteristic of a solar cell.

The maximum power is obtained at Pm = ImVm
I-V characteristics & Efficiency
I-V characteristics & Efficiency
I-V characteristics & Efficiency

The I-V characteristics of a solar cell with varying illumination

 Semiconductor Material Efficiencies: The Impact of
Band Gap on Efficiency

❖ Efficiency,  = (VocIscFF)/Pin hv > Eg

❖ Vocis proportional to Eg,
❖ Isc is proportional to intensity of
absorbed photons
❖ Decrease Eg, absorb more of the
spectrum
❖ But not without sacrificing output
voltage
 Series Connections

❖ Loads/sources wired in series

✓ VOLTAGESAREADDITIVE
✓ CURRENTISEQUAL
 Parallel Connections

❖ Loads/sources wired in parallel:

✓ VOLTAGEREMAINSCONSTANT
✓ CURRENTSAREADDITIVE
Advantages
1. It is clean and non-polluting
2. It is a renewable energy
3. Solar cells do not produce noise and they are totally silent.
4. They are long lasting sources of energy which can be used
almost anywhere
5. They have long life time
6. There are no fuel costs or fuel supply problems
Disadvantage
1. Solar power can`t be obtained in night time
2. Solar cells (or) solar panels are very expensive
3. Air pollution and whether can affect the production of
electricity
4. They need large area of land to produce more efficient
power supply
Types of solarcell
• Based on the types of crystal used, solar
cells
can be classified as,

1.Monocrystalline silicon cells

2. Polycrystalline silicon cells

3. Amorphous silicon cells

Comparison among the three typesof solar
cells

Material Efficiency (%)

Monocrystalline silicon cells 14-17

Polycrystalline silicon cells 13-15

Amorphous silicon cells 5-7

Thank You!!