How does a solar cell work

Developments in Solar Cell Technology

Pv cell materials

Non organic organic

silicon Non silicon

Organic pv

crystalline thinfilm Hybrid organic

Concentrating pv &non organic

Mono Amorphous Cadmium High efficient Dye senstizied

crystalline telluride Multijunction Solar cell
Poly Solar cell
Multi junction Copper indium
crystalline thin film diselenide

Copper indium
Galium Diselenide
 Mono crystalline solar cell

Mono-Si is manufactured by
Czochralski Process.

In a result of this process large
ignot is formed.

Advantages:

High efficiency (13 – 21%)

Small area

Long life time

Better in lower light conditions

Disadvantages:

More expensive to produce and their price high

High amount of silicon

Performance also decreases as increasing temperature
Poly crystalline solarcell

Instead of Czochralski Process
many fragemnets of silicon is melted
and it is poured into the square form
and which is cololed cut into the
square form.

Dark blue in color

Efficiency 13 -16%

Advantages:

1.less material

2.price p.c solar panel is chepaer

Disadvantages:

1.high emboided energy

2.less energy efficient

 Crystalline Solar cell:

Methods to Improve:

New silicon material and processing

Cell contacts

Improve device structure and develop new device

Wafer equivalent technologies

Productivity and cost optimization

Limitation:

Theoretical limit for a crystalline silicon solar panel is 29%

Thickness of silicon is hard to reduce.
Why CIGS has high efficiency than other thin films?

Courtesy : AUO Solar

Does the CIGS has reached maximum
efficiency ?

Souce : NREL

Efficiency = Pout / PIN

F.F = maximum power / (voc).( isc)