Photovoltaic Systems

Module 3 — Physics of Solar Cells

Light Absorption and

the Photovoltaic Effect
2020 DTU Fotonik — Rasmus Nielsen 1
 Light Interacting with Semiconductors

• Photons with Ephoton ≥ EG may be

absorbed by exciting an electron into the
conduction band
Heat loss
• The excited electron leaves behind an
empty energy state in the valence band,

Eg
also called a “hole” (positive charge)

• The excess photon energy with respect to

the bandgap is rapidly lost as heat. This
process is known as thermalization

• After some time the electron will annihilate

with the hole to fill the empty state in the
valence band again. This process is known
as recombination

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 The Photovoltaic Effect

Thermal Radiant Chemical Electrical

Energy Energy Energy Energy

Eg

Sun Absorber Device

Current x Voltage = Power

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 Optimal Bandgap

• Maximize the electric power P =U×I • The number of useful photons with
energies above the bandgap must be
calculated from the solar spectrum

hc
E = hf =
λ

Increasing bandgap

U 3 2 1

I 1 2 3

P 3 4 3

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 sity JJdd–voltage
sity –voltage VV curve
curve of
of the
the ideal
ideal solar
solar cell
cell isis given by JJdd ==
given by T
Th
q∆Φlum
q∆Φ (V).Equation
lum(V). Equation(2)
(2)has
hasthe
themathematical
mathematicalform formof ofaadiode
diode of a
of
The Shockley-Queisser Limit current–voltage curve,
current–voltage
SQLimit.eps
SQLimit.eps curve, and
and therefore
therefore thethe prefactor
prefactor before
before thethe We
We

(eV)
g1 (eV)
Assumptions 35
35 (a)
(a) 2

(%)
(%)
30
30 singlejunction
single junction

Eg1
1. Solar cell illuminated with the AM1.5G solar spectrum,

gap E
(Shockley and Queisser assumed AM0) 25
25 SQlimit
SQ limit 2

band gap
efficiency
efficiency
and all photons with Ephoton ≥ EG are absorbed 20
20

lower band
15
15 1
2. Each photon generates exactly 1 electron-hole pair 10
10

lower
55 1
3. Excess photon energy is lost (thermalization),
but the solar cell does not heat up!
0.5
0.5 1.0
1.0 1.5
1.5 2.0
2.0 2.5
2.5 3.0
3.0 3.5
3.5

4. Only band to band (radiative) recombination allowed

bandgap
band gapenergy
energyEEgg(eV)
(eV)

5. Ideal transport of electrons and holes

Figure
2020
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theSQ
Nielsen
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Ideally
SQ forEa)a)abetween
limitfor
limit
G
asingle 1.1 −solar
singlejunction
junction 1.4 eV
solar celland
cell andb)
b)aat
illuminationvia
illumination viathe
theAM1.5G
AM1.5Gspectrum
spectrumtabulated
tabulatedininref.
ref.[73]
[73](without
(withoutconcentration)
concentration
betweenthe
between thetwo twosubcells.
subcells.
η ≈ 33 %
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 Direct and indirect semiconductors

• The flat energy band model fails Direct bandgap Indirect bandgap
to describe why some materials
absorb more strongly than others (e . g . GaAs) (e . g . Si)

• A direct transition only requires

a photon
Phonon

• An indirect transition requires a

Energy
Energy
photon and a phonon (lattice vibration) Photon Photon

• Two-particle processes are less

probable. Therefore, indirect
semiconductors must be thicker
to absorb all useful photons
Momentum Momentum

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 List of Important Photovoltaic Materials

• Silicon has an almost ideal bandgap, Material Bandgap (300K) Record Efficiency
but the bandgap is indirect!
c-Si 1.12 eV (indirect) 26.1 %
• Thin-film photovoltaics is the study
of direct band gap semiconductors as mc-Si 1.12 eV (indirect) 23.3 %
an alternative to silicon.
CdTe 1.45 eV 22.1 %
• CdTe is the commercially dominant GaAs 1.42 eV 29.1 %
thin-film semiconductor
CIGS Variable (1.0-1.7 eV) 23.4 %
• Notice, amorphous silicon has a direct
bandgap! However, the bandgap is CZTS 1.13 eV 12.6 %
much greater than crystalline silicon
a-Si:H 1.7 eV 14.0 %

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 The Fermi-Dirac Distribution Function
f (E ) T = 0K
• The Fermi-Dirac distribution function
describes the probability of a state 1
being occupied by an electron T1
0.5 T2
1
f (E) = E
1 + exp ( )
E − EF EF
kBT
E E E
• The distribution is a step-function at T = 0K T1 > 0 K T2 > T1
T = 0 K, and it broadens with
increasing temperature
EF EF EF
• The probability that a state is
“occupied” by a hole is 1 − f (E)
f (E ) f (E ) f (E )
0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1 0 0.5 1

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 Carrier Concentrations

• The concentration of electrons with energy E is calculated by

multiplying the density of states, gc (E), with the probability E
of the energy states being occupied f (E)
Etop

∫E
n
Electron concentration n= gc (E) f (E) dE
n (E)
C
EV EF

∫E
Hole concentration p= gv (E) [1 − f (E)] dE p (E)
bottom
p

• In an intrinsic (pure) semiconductor, the concentration of

electrons in the conduction band and holes in the valence
band are equal
g (E)
ni = pi ⟹ ni × pi = ni2 f (E)
0 1

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 Quasi-Fermi Level Splitting

• The Fermi level shifts up when electrons are

E
added, and shifts down when holes are
added, but the relation below still holds!
n × p = ni2 (doped)

n
• However, both electrons and holes are EF,C
generated in an illuminated semiconductor
μeh = maximum voltage
n×p> ni2 (illuminated)
EF,V
p
• Two Fermi-levels are now necessary! We call
them Quasi-Fermi levels.
The difference between the two energy levels
is the maximum voltage of the solar cell

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 Summary

• Photons with energies Ephoton ≥ EG may be absorbed in a semiconductor, and excite an electron into
the conduction band. The empty state in the valence band is called “a hole” and carries a positive charge

• Excess photon energy is lost as heat in a process known as thermalization

• The photovoltaic effect describes the conversion of light into an electrical potential (voltage) and a charge
current

• The Shockley-Queisser limit is the theoretical maximum efficiency of a solar cell as a function of the
bandgap. It is a compromise between number of photons absorbed and the maximum voltage

• Indirect semiconductors (e.g. c-Si) require the participation of a phonon (lattice vibration) to absorb
photons. Therefore direct semiconductors (e.g. CdTe, GaAs, CIGS) absorb more strongly

• Upon light exposure the Fermi level in the semiconductor split up into two quasi-Fermi levels. The
difference between the quasi-Fermi levels is the maximum voltage of the solar cell

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