EE 582 SOLAR PV SYSTEM

UT: 17:20-18:35, Room: 59-2015

4th Lecture
January 31st, 2023

Instructor: Dr. Bandar Jubran Alqahtani

Department of Electrical Engineering, KFUPM
E-mail: Bandar.qahtani@kfupm.edu.sa
Office Hours: UT: 16:15-17:15; and by appointment (email)
 Solar PV Technologies Overview

PV Basics - Semiconductors
Today’s topics

Silicon Solar Cell

 Single crystal CZ, cast, ribbon
Solar PV Family Tree:
Polycrystal Cast, ribbon,…
Silicon

• PV technologies in the market Single junction

▪ ~ 90% Crystalline Silicon Amorphous
Multijunction
▪ ~ 10% thin films
➢CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium di-Selenide) Single crystal III-V
Compound
➢CdTe (Cadmium Telluride) semiconductor
CuInSe2 , CdTe,
One-sun Polycrystalline
▪ All other technologies are marginal Dye-sensitized
perovskite, etc.

Molecular
Bulk
heterojunction
Polymer
Solar Cells Organic
Molecular
Nanoparticle
Planar
concepts
Polymer
Silicon-based
Concentrating PV
III-V based Multijunction
Solar PV Technologies
https://app.sli.do/event/29RSJRVjq5qNLNz4ZRvB3Z
PV Basics - Semiconductors
Materials can be split into 3 categories:
a) Metals: electrons can move freely all the time
b) Semiconductors: electron needs to gain energy larger than Eg to become conductive
(i.e. bridges a band gap).
c) Insulators: band gap is so large, nearly impossible for electron to become conductive.
Semiconductors- Silicon Solar Cell
2018 global PV module shipment by product type
Silicon is commonly used as a semiconductor
material in solar cells.

8
PV Basics – Silicon Solar Cell
• Light incident on a solar cell must either be reflected, absorbed or transmitted
• To exploit the electrons and holes to produce an electric force and a current, another mechanism is needed-
a built-in "potential“ barrier.
• Doping modifies semiconductor properties
• N-type doping increases amount of free electrons
• Achieved in silicon through addition of phosphor.
• P-type doping increases amount of free “holes” (mobile positive charges)
• Achieved in silicon through addition of boron.
• Joining a p-type and n-type material produces a p-n junction (a diode), pushing electrons to flow from the N-
layer to the P-layer side while holes move in the opposite direction.
• The additional free electrons in the n-side and holes in the p-side by light incident together with charge
separation (p-n junction) causes the presence of uncombined excess negative charges on the n-layer side
and excess holes on the p-layer side, and thus results in a charge imbalance in the cell.
• When the n-layer side and the p-layer side of the cell is connected to an external electric circuit, electrons
(negative charges) will flow out from the n-type side, through a load and then flow into the p-type side,
where they recombine with holes.
PV Effect- Silicon Solar Cell

Legend
Homework
Assigned reading:

http://www.pveducation.org/
sections 3.1-3.2