Energy Conversion and Storage

Types of Energy
 Potential & Kinetic Energy
1 1
m mgh  mv  E
2
mv2  0
2 2
1
mgh  mv2  E mgh  0
2
Types of Energy
 Thermal Energy
Q  mcT
m : mass (g)
T : change in temperature(K )
c : specific heat capacity (cal / g  K )
Heat capacity: The thermal energy required to raise the mass of a
substance by one degree; 1 cal: 4.184 J 1 J: 0.24 cal
Types of Energy
 Electric Energy
E  CV
1eV  1.61019 J
Types of Energy
 Nuclear Energy
E  mc2
E  mc 2
Types of Energy
 Photon Energy (E)
hc
E  h 

h  planck's contant(6.626 10-34 J  sec)
Types of Energy
 Photon Energy (E) : The energy carried

by a single photon
 Gamma rays - higher energy
photons
 Radiofrequency region – lower
energy photons
UV light is distinguished into several

sub-ranges such as UVA (315-400nm),
UVB (280-315nm), UVC (200-280nm)
and Vacuum UV (100-200nm)
Types of Energy
 Photon Energy
hc
E g  h 

1240nm
E

Photon energy at 1 µm wavelength, the wavelength near IR, is ~ 1.240 eV
Global Energy Resource
-Fossil fuels dominate energy supplies.

-From 1971 to 2003, global oil consumption in transport increased four times faster than
consumption in industry.
-Renewables other than hydro and biomass, including geothermal, solar and wind energy,
are growing faster than any other energy source, but still account for only a tiny fraction of
global energy supply.
Global Energy Resource
-Higher energy prices are promoting energy efficiency but also causing concerns.
-High prices are promoting energy conservation and efficiency efforts and making
alternative energy sources, such as renewable energy, more competitive.
Atmosphere & Air Pollution
-Particulate air pollution has been reduced worldwide but remains high in large cities in
developing countries
-Despite some improvement, in many Asian cities air pollution levels are an order of
magnitude higher than in major developed country cities.
Climate Change
-Historical and current pictures of Arctic sea ice and tropical glaciers indicate the extent of warming
and melting that has occurred over the past 25-35 years.
-Recent evidence indicates that current atmospheric CO2 concentrations are high compared
with levels over the last million years.
-Global warming is currently raising sea-levels by almost 2 cm per decade, and that rate is expected to
increase with rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, leading to flooding of low-lying coastal areas.
Nonrenewable Energy
Nonrenewable energy: finite resources that will eventually dwindle,
becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to retrieve.
Coal Oil
Nuclear Fission
Natural gas
Fossil Fuel
Is nuclear energy Renewable?

Renewable Energy
Renewable energy: resources—such as wind and solar energy—are
constantly replenished and will never run out.
Solar: Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from

the sun. Sunlight, or solar energy, can be used directly for heating and
lighting homes and other buildings, for generating electricity, and for hot
water heating, and a variety of commercial and industrial uses.
Wind: The sun's heat also drives the winds, whose energy is captured with
wind turbines. Then, the winds and the sun's heat cause water to evaporate.
When this water vapor turns into rain or snow and flows downhill into
rivers or streams, its energy can be captured using hydropower
Renewable Energy
Biomass: Along with the rain and snow, sunlight causes plants to grow. The
organic matter that makes up those plants is known as biomass. Biomass
can be used to produce electricity, transportation fuels, or chemicals. The
use of biomass for any of these purposes is called biomass energy.
Hydrogen: Hydrogen also can be found in many organic compounds, as

well as water. It's the most abundant element on the Earth. But it doesn't
occur naturally as a gas. It's always combined with other elements, such as
with oxygen to make water. Once separated from another element,
hydrogen can be burned as a fuel or converted into electricity.
In a flame of pure hydrogen gas, burning in air, the hydrogen (H2) reacts
with oxygen (O2) to form water(H2O) and releases energy.
2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2O(g) + energy
Geothermal: Not all renewable energy resources come from the sun.
Geothermal energy taps the Earth's internal heat for a variety of uses,
including electric power production, and the heating and cooling of
buildings.
Renewable Energy
Ocean: The ocean can produce thermal energy from the sun's heat and
mechanical energy from the tides and waves.
Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth's surface, making them the
world's largest solar collectors.
Ocean thermal power: This works best when the temperature difference
between the warmer, top layer of the ocean and the colder, deep ocean
water is about 20°C (36°F). These conditions exist in tropical coastal areas,
roughly between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. This
power could produce billions of watts of electrical power.
Ocean tide power: For those tidal differences to be harnessed into

electricity, the difference between high and low tides must be at least five
meters. There are only about 40 sites on the Earth with tidal ranges of this
magnitude.
Hydropower: Flowing water creates energy that can be captured and

turned into electricity. This is called hydroelectric power or hydropower.
Renewable Energy
Biomass
Source of Biomass
·We have used biomass energy or "bioenergy"—the energy from
plants and plant-derived materials—since people began burning
wood to cook food and keep warm.
·Wood is still the largest biomass energy resource today, but other
sources of biomass can also be used. (food crops, grassy and woody
plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, and the organic component
of municipal and industrial wastes)
Use of Biomass
· Biofuel: Converting biomass into liquid fuels for transportation.
· Biofuels are in theory carbon-neutral because the carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the plants is equal
to the carbon dioxide that is released when the fuel is burned.
·Biopower: Burning biomass directly, or converting it into gaseous or
liquid fuels that burn more efficiently, to generate electricity
·Bioproduct: Converting biomass into chemicals for making plastics
and other products that typically are made from petroleum
Benefits of Biomass
· Potential to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
· Reduce dependence on foreign oil because biofuels are the only renewable liquid transportation fuels.
·Biomass energy supports agricultural and forest-product industries. For biomass fuels, the feedstocks are
corn (for ethanol) and soybeans (for biodiesel), both surplus crops.
Renewable Energy
Solar Energy
Technology of Solar Energy Utilization
·Concentrating solar power systems — Using the sun's heat to
produce electricity.
·Passive solar heating and daylighting — Using solar energy to heat
and light buildings.
·Photovoltaic (solar cell) systems — Producing electricity directly
from sunlight.
· Solar hot water — Heating water with solar energy.
Renewable Energy
Concentrating solar power: Many power plants today use fossil fuels as
a heat source to boil water. The steam from the boiling water rotates a
large turbine, which activates a generator that produces electricity.
However, a new generation of power plants, with concentrating solar
power systems, uses the sun as a heat source.
Passive Solar: The south side of a building always receives the most
sunlight. Therefore, buildings designed for passive solar heating usually
have large, south-facing windows. Materials that absorb and store the
sun's heat can be built into the sunlit floors and walls. The floors and
walls will then heat up during the day and slowly release heat at night,
when the heat is needed most. This passive solar design feature is called
direct gain.
Thousands of years ago, the Anasazi Indians
in Colorado incorporated passive solar design
in their cliff dwellings.
Renewable Energy
Photovoltaics: Solar cells, also called photovoltaics (PV) by solar cell
scientists, convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are made of
semiconducting materials similar to those used in computer chips.
When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks
electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow
through the material to produce electricity. This process of converting
light (photons) to electricity (voltage) is called the photovoltaic (PV)
effect.
Solar Hot Water: The sunlight can heat the water. The sun can be
used in heating water used in buildings and swimming pools. This
system consists of a solar collector and a storage tank. A flat-plate
collector consists of a thin, flat, rectangular box with a transparent
cover that faces the sun. Small tubes run through the box and carry the
fluid to be heated. The storage tank then holds the hot liquid. It can be
just a modified water heater, but it is usually larger and very well-
insulated. Solar water heating systems can be either active or passive,
but the most common are active systems. Active systems rely on
pumps to move the liquid between the collector and the storage tank,
while passive systems rely on gravity and the tendency for water to
naturally circulate as it is heated.
Renewable Energy
Wind Energy: From old Holland to farms in the United States,
windmills have been used for pumping water or grinding grain. Today,
the windmill's modern equivalent—a wind turbine—can use the
wind's energy to generate electricity.
Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the

most energy. At 100 feet (30 meters) or more aboveground, they can
take advantage of the faster and less turbulent wind. Turbines catch
the wind's energy with their propeller-like blades. Usually, two or
three blades are mounted on a shaft to form a rotor.
Properties of Sun Light
 Energy of a Photon
hc
E  h 

 where h is Planck's constant and c is the speed of light.
 h = 6.626  10-34 joule·s and c = 2.998 ×108 m/s
 When dealing with "particles" such as photons or electrons, a commonly
used unit of energy is the electron-volt (eV) rather than the joule (J).
 An electron volt is the energy required to raise an electron through 1 volt,
thus 1 eV = 1.602 x 10-19 J.
hc = (1.99 x 10-29 joules∙m) x (1ev/1.602 x 10-19 joules) = 1.24 x 10-6 eV∙m
 Further, we need to have the units be in m:
hc = (1.24 x 10-6 eV∙m) x(1.0 x 106 m/ m) = 1.24 eV∙m
1.24
E eV
 ( m)
 Photon Flux
# of photons

secm2
 The photon flux is defined as the number of photons per second per unit
area:
 The photon flux is important in determining the number of electrons which
are generated, and hence the current produced from a solar cell.
 Since the photon flux gives the number of photons striking a surface in a
given time, multiplying by the energy of the photons comprising the photon
flux gives the energy striking a surface per unit time, which is equivalent to
a power density.
 To determine the power density in units of W/m², the energy of the
photons must be in Joules.
W # hc 1.24
H ( 2 )  ( )  (J )  q
m sec m 
2
(m)
 Spectral Irradiance
 The spectral irradiance as a function of photon wavelength (or energy),
denoted by F, is the most common way of characterising a light source. It
gives the power density at a particular wavelength.
 The units of spectral irradiance are in Wm-2µm-1. The Wm-2 term is the
power density at the wavelength λ(µm). Therefore, the m-2 refers to the
surface area of the light emitter and the µm-1 refers to the wavelength of
interest.
 The spectral irradiance is power density divided by the given wavelength.
W 1.24 E 2 (eV )
F( 2 )  q 2  q
m m  (m) 1.24
Where:
F: the spectral irradiance (W/m2m)
: the photon flux (#/m2sec) q, h and c: constants,
q: is the value of electronic charge 1.6*10-19
 Spectral Irradiance
The spectral irradiance of xenon (green), halogen (blue) and mercury (red) light bulbs (left axis) are compared to the
spectral irradiance from the sun (purple,which corresponds to the right axis).
 Radiant Power Density

 The total power density emitted from a light source can be calculated by
integrating the spectral irradiance over all wavelengths or energies of
interest.

H   F ()d  i0 F()

where :
H: the total power density emitted from the light source in Wm-2.
F(): the spectral irradiance in units of Wm-2μm-1
 The measured spectral irradiance must be multiplied by a wavelength
range over which it was measured, and then calculated over all
wavelengths.
 Blackbody Radiation
 Many commonly encountered light sources, including the sun and
incandescent light bulbs, are closely modelled as "blackbody" emitters.
 A blackbody absorbs all radiation incident on its surface and emits
radiation based on its temperature.
 The blackbody sources which are of interest to photovoltaics, emit light in
the visible region.
 The spectral irradiance from a blackbody is given by radiation law, shown
in the following equation:
 The simplest is to use SI units so that c is in m/s, h is in joule·seconds, T

is in kelvin, k is in joule/kelvin, and λ is in meters. This will give units of
spectral irradiance in Wm-3. Dividing by 106 gives the conventional units of
spectral irradiance in Wm-2µm-1.
 The Boltzmann constant (kB or k) is a physical constant relating the average relative kinetic
energy of particles in a gas with the temperature of the gas
 Planck's law of black-body radiation and Boltzmann's entropy formula
 It is the gas constant R divided by the Avogadro constant NA: R/NA
 1.380649 × 10−23 J/K
 The Stefan–Boltzmann law describes the power radiated from a black body in terms of
its temperature
 Specifically, the Stefan–Boltzmann law states that the total energy radiated per unit surface
area of a black body across all wavelengths per unit time (also known as the black-body radiant
emittance) is directly proportional to the fourth power of the black body's thermodynamic
temperature T:
 The total power density (W/m2)from a blackbody is determined by

integrating the spectral irradiance over all wavelengths which gives:
where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and T is the temperature of the

blackbody in kelvin. .
 An additional important parameter of a blackbody source is the
wavelength where the spectral irradiance is the highest, or, in other words
the wavelength where most of the power is emitted.
 The peak wavelength of the spectral irradiance is determined by
differentiating the spectral irradiance and solving the derivative when it
equals 0.
 The result is known as Wien's Law and is shown in the following equation:
Wien's displacement law states that the black-body
radiation curve for different temperature peaks at a
wavelength is inversely proportional to the temperature.
where λp is the wavelength where the peak spectral irradiance is emitted and T is the
temperature of the blackbody (K).
 Blackbody radiation
Spectral intensity of light emitted from a black body on a log-log scale. At room
temperature the emission is very low and centered around 10 µm.
 The Sun
 The sun is a hot sphere of gas whose internal temperatures reach over 20
million degrees kelvin due to nuclear fusion reactions at the sun's core
which convert hydrogen to helium.
 Heat is transferred through this layer by convection.
 The surface of the sun, called the photosphere, is at a temperature of
about 6000K and closely approximates a blackbody.
 For simplicity, the 6000 K spectrum is commonly used in detailed balance
calculations but temperatures of 5762 ± 50 K and 5730 ± 90 K have also
been proposed as a more accurate fit to the sun's spectrum.
 T=5762 K, peak=0.5033, and H=6.25107 W/m2
 The total power emitted by the sun is calculated by multiplying the emitted
power density by the surface area of the sun which gives 9.5 x 1025 W.
 The Sun
 Solar Radiation in Space

 Only a fraction of the total power emitted by the sun impinges on an object
in space which is some distance from the sun.
 The solar irradiance (H0 in W/m2) is the power density incident on an
object due to illumination from the sun.
 At the sun's surface, the power density is that of a blackbody at about
6000K and the total power from the sun is this value multiplied by the
sun's surface area.
 However, at some distance from the sun, the total power from the sun is
now spread out over a much larger surface area and therefore the solar
irradiance on an object in space decreases as the object moves further
away from the sun.
 The solar irradiance on an object some distance D from the sun is found
by dividing the total power emitted from the sun by the surface area over
which the sunlight falls.
 The total solar radiation emitted by the sun is given by σT4 multiplied by
the surface area of the sun (4πR2sun) where Rsun is the radius of the sun
 The surface area over which the power from the sun falls will be 4πD2.
Where D is the distance of the object from the sun.
 Therefore, the solar radiation intensity, H0 in (W/m2), incident on an object
is:
At a distance, D, from the sun the same amount of power is spread over a much
wider area so the solar radiation power intensity is reduced.
 Solar Radiation Outside the Earth’s Atmosphere

 The solar radiation outside the earth's atmosphere is calculated using the
radiant power density (Hsun) at the sun's surface (5.961 x 107 W/m2), the
radius of the sun (Rsun), and the distance between the earth and the sun.
 The calculated solar irradiance at the Earth's atmosphere is about 1.36
kW/m2.
Geometrical constants for

finding the Earth's solar
irradiance. The diameter of
the Earth is not needed but is
included for the sake of
completeness.
 The actual power density varies slightly since the Earth-Sun distance
changes as the Earth moves in its elliptical orbit around the sun, and
because the sun's emitted power is not constant.
 The power variation due to the elliptical orbit is about 3.4%, with the
largest solar irradiance in January and the smallest solar irradiance in July.
 An equation which describes the variation through out the year just
outside the earth's atmosphere is:
where:
H is the radiant power density outside the Earth's atmosphere (in W/m2);
Hconstant is the value of the solar constant, 1.353 kW/m2; and
n is the day of the year.
 These variations are typically small and for photovoltaic applications the
solar irradiance can be considered constant.
 The value of the solar constant and its spectrum have been defined as a
standard value called air mass zero (AM0) and takes a value of 1.353
kW/m2.
 Atmospheric Effects
 Atmospheric effects have several impacts on the solar radiation at the
Earth's surface. The major effects for photovoltaic applications are:
 a reduction in the power of the solar radiation due to absorption, scattering
and reflection in the atmosphere;
 a change in the spectral content of the solar radiation due to greater
absorption or scattering of some wavelengths;
 the introduction of a diffuse or indirect component into the solar radiation;
and
 local variations in the atmosphere (such as water vapour, clouds and
pollution) which have additional effects on the incident power, spectrum and
directionality.
 Atmospheric Effects
Typical clear sky absorption and scattering of

incident sunlight
 Air Mass
 The Air Mass is the path length which light takes through the atmosphere
normalized to the shortest possible path length (that is, when the sun is
directly overhead).
 The Air Mass quantifies the reduction in the power of light as it passes
through the atmosphere and is absorbed by air and dust.
 The Air Mass is defined as:
 where θ is the angle from the vertical (zenith angle). When the sun is
directly overhead, the Air Mass is 1.
The air mass represents the proportion of atmosphere

that the light must pass through before striking the
Earth relative to its overhead path length, and is
equal to Y/X.
 Air Mass
 An easy method to determine the air mass is from the shadow of a vertical
pole.
 Air mass is the length of the hypotenuse divided by the object height h,
and from Pythagoras's theorem we get:
 Air Mass
 Because of the curvature of the atmosphere, the air mass is not quite
equal to the atmospheric path length when the sun is close to the horizon.
 An equation which incorporates the curvature of the earth is
 The efficiency of a solar cell is sensitive to variations in both the power

and the spectrum of the incident light.
 To facilitate an accurate comparison between solar cells measured at
different times and locations, a standard spectrum and power density has
been defined for both radiation outside the Earth's atmosphere and at the
Earth's surface.
 The standard spectrum at the Earth's surface is called AM1.5G, (the G
stands for global and includes both direct and diffuse radiation) or AM1.5D
(which includes direct radiation only).
 The intensity of AM1.5D radiation can be approximated by reducing the

AM0 spectrum by 28% (18% due to absorption and 10% to scattering).
 The global spectrum is 10% higher than the direct spectrum.
 These calculations give approximately 970 W/m2 for AM1.5G. However,
the standard AM1.5G spectrum has been normalized to give 1kW/m2 due
to the convenience of the round number and the fact that there are
inherently variations in incident solar radiation.
 The standard spectrum outside the Earth's atmosphere is called AM0,
because at no stage does the light pass through the atmosphere. This
spectrum is typically used to predict the expected performance of cells in
space.
 Intensity Calculation based on The Air Mass

 The intensity of the direct component of sunlight throughout each day can
be determined as a function of air mass from the experimentally
determined equation
where ID is the intensity on a plane perpendicular to the sun's rays in units of

kW/m2 and AM is the air mass.
 The value of 1.353 kW/m2 is the solar constant and the number 0.7 arises
from the fact that about 70% of the radiation incident on the atmosphere is
transmitted to the Earth.
 The extra power term of 0.678 is an empirical fit to the observed data and
takes into account the non-uniformities in the atmospheric layers.
 Even on a clear day, the diffuse radiation is still about 10% of the direct
component. Thus on a clear day the global irradiance on a module
perpendicular to the sun's rays is:
 Measurement of Solar Radiation

 In PV system design it is essential to know the
amount of sunlight available at a particular
location at a given time.
 The two common methods which characterise
solar radiation are the solar radiance (or radiation)
and solar insolation.
 The solar radiance is an instantaneous power
density in units of kW/m2. The solar radiance
varies throughout the day from 0 kW/m2 at night to
a maximum of about 1 kW/m2.
 The solar radiance is strongly dependant on
location and local weather. Solar radiance The photograph at left
measurements consist of global and/or direct shows equipment for solar
radiation measurements taken periodically irradiance measurements.
throughout the day.
 Measurement of Solar Radiation

 While solar irradiance is most commonly measured, a more common form of
radiation data used in system design is the solar insolation.
 The solar insolation is the total amount of solar energy received at a particular
location during a specified time period, often in units of kWh/(m2 day).
 While the units of solar insolation and solar irradiance are both a power density
(for solar insolation the "hours" in the numerator are a time measurement as is the
"day" in the denominator), solar insolation is quite different than the solar
irradiance as the solar insolation is the instantaneous solar irradiance averaged
over a given time period.
 Solar insolation can also be expressed in units of MJ/m2 per year.
 Average Solar Radiation

 The average daily solar radiation at a location in a given month is often sufficient
for a basic system analysis.
 This data may be presented either as measured on the horizontal or measured with
the measuring surface perpendicular to the solar radiation.
 Peak Sun Hours
 The average daily solar insolation in units of kWh/m2 per day is sometimes
referred to as "peak sun hours".
 The term "peak sun hours" refers to the solar insolation which a particular
location would receive if the sun were shining at its maximum value for a certain
number of hours.
 Since the peak solar radiation is 1 kW/m2, the number of peak sun hours is
numerically identical to the average daily solar insolation.
 For example, a location that receives 8 kWh/m2 per day can be said to have
received 8 hours of sun per day at 1 kW/m2.
 Peak Sun Hours
Annual solar availability
Solar power and solar cell availability
Average value
The capacity factor is the average power generated, divided by the rated peak power.
Eg. If a five-megawatt wind turbine produces power at an average of two megawatts, then its capacity
factor is 40% (2÷5 = 0.40, i.e. 40%).
Prof. Gratzel’s Presentation (SISF 2013)

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is an algorithm implemented in photovoltaic (PV) inverters to
continuously adjust the impedance seen by the solar array to keep the PV system operating at, or close
to, the peak power point of the PV panel under varying conditions, like changing solar irradiance,
temperature, and load.
Engineers developing solar inverters implement MPPT algorithms to maximize the power generated by
PV systems. The algorithms control the voltage to ensure that the system operates at “maximum
power point” (or peak voltage) on the power voltage curve, as shown below.
MPPT algorithms are typically used in the controller designs for PV systems. The algorithms account for
factors such as variable irradiance (sunlight) and temperature to ensure that the PV system generates
maximum power at all times.
Shading
shading is a problem in PV modules since shading just one cell in the module can reduce the power
output to zero. The cells in a module are all connected in series.
Shading of a Single Cell

The output of a cell declines when shaded by a tree branch, building or module dust. The output
declines proportionally to the amount of shading. For completely opaque objects such as a leaf, the
decline in current output of the cell is proportional to the amount of the cell that is obscured.
 Perovskite Solar Cells
The light intensity on a solar cell is

called the number of suns, where 1
sun corresponds to standard
illumination at AM1.5, or 1 kW/m2.
Power conversion efficiency (PCE)
HS Jung et al EES (2014)

Solar Cells
 Photon Energy
E  h h  planck's contant(6.62610-34 J sec)
Although light behaves like a wave, having both a wavelength and a frequency, a
series of experiments by Planck and Einstein in the early 1900s showed that it also
exhibits particle-like behavior. These light particles are called photons, and the
energy of a given particle of light can be computed from the simple relationship.
Solar Cells
 BASIC RESEARCH CHALLENGES FOR SOLAR ELECTRICITY

Edmund Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic (PV) effect in 1839
Voltage and a current were produced when a silver chloride electrode immersed in
an electrolytic solution and connected to a counter metal electrode was illuminated
with white light
The birth of the modern era of PV solar cells occurred in 1954, when D. Chapin, C.
Fuller, and G. Pearson at Bell Labs demonstrated solar cells based on p-n junctions in
single crystal Si with efficiencies of 5–6%
From the mid 1950s to the early 1970s, PV research and development (R&D) was
directed primarily toward space applications and satellite power.
In 1973, a greatly increased level of R&D on solar cells was initiated due to oil
embargo
Solar Cells
World PV cell/module production (in MWp)
Total global PV (or solar) cell production increased from less than 10 MWp/yr in
1980 to about 1,200 MWp/yr in 2004.
The “peak watt” (Wp) rating is the power (in watts) produced by a solar module
illuminated under AM1.5 standard conditions
Solar Cells
© 2013 NPD Solarbuzz. All rights reserved.

Solar Cells
 COST
Higher PV efficiency directly impacts the overall electricity cost, because higher-
efficiency cells will produce more electrical energy per unit of cell area over the cell
lifetime.
The cost figure of merit for PV cell modules ($/Wp) is determined by the ratio of
the module cost per unit of area ($/m2) divided by the maximum amount of electric
power delivered per unit of area (module efficiency multiplied by 1,000 W/m2, the
peak insolation power).
Solar Cells
Maximum theoretical efficiency of a solar

cell using a single p-n junction to collect
power from the cell.
PV power costs ($/Wp) as function of module efficiency and areal cost (Source: Green 2004)
Solar Cells
Cost per peak watt ($/Wp) is indicated by a series of dashed straight lines having
different slopes.
Single-crystalline Si PV cells, with an efficiency of 10% and a cost of $350/m2, thus

have a module cost of $3.50/Wp.
The area labeled I in the Figure represents the first generation (Generation I) of
solar cells and covers the range of module costs and efficiencies for these cells.
Areas labeled II and III in the Figure present the module costs for Generation II
(thin-film PV) and Generation III (advanced future structures) PV cells.
Solar Cells
Q2’12 Q3’12 Q4’12 Q1’13 Q2’13 Q3’13 Q4’13 Q1’14 Q2’14
Cells (Average) $/W 0.46 0.38 0.36 0.38 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.38
Module ASPs $/W
c-Si Tier 1 Premium HE 1.53 1.41 1.32 1.30 1.28 1.23 1.20 1.17 1.15
c-Si Tier 1 Premium Brand 1.06 1.01 1.00 1.05 0.97 0.94 0.90 0.88 0.86
c-Si Tier 1 China 0.82 0.72 0.65 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.63 0.62 0.62
c-Si All Other 0.74 0.65 0.59 0.58 0.59 0.57 0.56 0.55 0.54
c-Si Weighted Average 0.87 0.78 0.71 0.74 0.71 0.70 0.68 0.67 0.66
c-Si Weighted Average (excl. HE) 0.84 0.74 0.68 0.71 0.68 0.67 0.65 0.64 0.63
Thin Film CdTe 0.86 0.69 0.58 0.64 0.63 0.61 0.59 0.58 0.57
Thin Film a-Si/μ-Si 0.81 0.79 0.81 0.84 0.81 0.79 0.75 0.72 0.70
Thin Film CIS/CIGS 0.80 0.74 0.71 0.66 0.66 0.64 0.61 0.58 0.56
Thin Film Weighted Average 0.84 0.72 0.66 0.69 0.67 0.65 0.63 0.61 0.60
Total Industry Weighted Average 0.86 0.75 0.68 0.72 0.69 0.67 0.65 0.64 0.63

Solar Cells

Current and Future of Solar Cells
$0.10/W $0.20/W $0.50/W
I. 1st-generation
100
High efficiency but expensive

• Single crystal Si, 24.7%
80
• Polycrystalline Si, 20.3%

Efficiency (%)
60
III $1.00/W II. 2nd generation

Low cost but low efficiency
40
• Amorphous Si, 11.7%

• CIGS, 19.9%
20
I $3.50/W • CdTe, 16.5%

II • DSSC, 11.1%
0 100
• OPV, 8.3% (small cell)
200 300 400 500
Cost ($/m2)
III. 3rd generation
High efficiency & low cost!
Goal: Improve thin film solar cell efficiency + Reduced manufacturing costs
 High-efficiency, low-cost thin-film solar cells through multiscale architecture

Levelized Cost of Energy
 average cost per kWh of useful electrical energy produced by the system
 SunShot Initiative will make the cost of solar generated electricity competitive with conventionally
generated electricity.
 Reference scenario is modeled with moderate solar energy price reductions
 In US, LCOE is expected to be 0.11$/kWh in 2020

Levelized Cost of Energy
 2010 LCOE
 To Achieve LCOE 0.11$/kWh

Trend in Module Price
 Si Module prices in Europe, Japan and US
 Si module price in China

Solar Cells
 Need for Revolution on Existing Technology Path

Over the past three decades, the cost of PV modules has decreased at a rate of 20% for each
doubling of module production.
Considering both module and BOS costs, together with present cell efficiencies, the cost of
solar electricity has dropped from about $3.65/kWh in 1976 to about $0.30/kWh in 2003. The
projected attainment of very-low-cost PV power ($0.02/kWh)
 BOS costs: support structures, maintenance, land, etc.
Need for Revolution

Perovskite Thin Film Solar Cells
Methylammonium lead triiodide has a

high charge carrier mobility and charge
carrier lifetime that allow light-generated
electrons and holes to move far enough to
be extracted as current, instead of losing
their energy as heat within the cell.
 Large absorption coefficient: more than 10

times larger than Ru-dye (>1.5x 10-4 cm-1]
 Cover longer wavelength ~800 nm
N. G. Park J. Phys. Chem, Lett. (2013)

p-i-n device configuration
n-i-p device configuration

Perovskite solar cells

DSSCs
OPV
Solar Cells
 Conduction in Semiconductors
 The electrons in the covalent bond formed between each of the atoms in the
lattice structure are held in place by this bond and hence they are localized to the
region surrounding the atom.
 These bonded electrons cannot move or change energy, and thus are not
considered "free" and cannot participate in current flow.
 However, only at absolute zero are all electrons in this "stuck," bonded
arrangement. At elevated temperatures, especially at the temperatures where
solar cells operate, electrons can gain enough energy to escape from their bonds.
 When this happens, the electrons are free to move about the crystal lattice and
participate in conduction. At room temperature, a semiconductor has enough free
electrons to allow it to conduct current.
 When an electron gains enough energy to participate in conduction (is "free"), it
is at a high energy state. When the electron is bound, and thus cannot participate
in conduction, the electron is at a low energy state.
 it is either at a low energy position in the bond, or it has gained enough energy to
break free and therefore has a certain minimum energy. This minimum energy is
called the "band gap" of a semiconductor.
Solar Cells
 Conduction in Semiconductors
 The space left behind by the electrons allows a
covalent bond to move from one electron to
another, thus appearing to be a positive charge
moving through the crystal lattice.
 This empty space is commonly called a "hole",
and is similar to an electron, but with a positive
charge.
 Most important parameters of a semiconductor material for solar cell
operation
 the band gap;
 the number of free carriers (electrons or holes) available for conduction; and
 the "generation" and recombination of free carriers (electrons or holes) in
response to light shining on the material.
Solar Cells
 Band Gap
 The band gap of a semiconductor is the minimum energy required to excite an
electron that is stuck in its bound state into a free state where it can participate
in conduction.
 The band structure of a semiconductor gives the energy of the electrons on the
y-axis and is called a "band diagram".
 The lower energy level of a semiconductor is called the "valence band" (EV)
and the energy level at which an electron can be considered free is called the
"conduction band" (EC).
 The excitation of an electron to the
conduction band leaves behind an empty
space for an electron.
 When this electron moves, it leaves behind
another space. The continual movement of
the space for an electron, called a "hole", can
be illustrated as the movement of a positively
charged particle through the crystal structure.
 Thus, both the electron and hole can
participate in conduction and are called
"carriers".
Solar Cells
 Intrinsic Carrier Concentration
 The thermal excitation of a carrier from the valence band to the conduction
band creates free carriers in both bands.
 The concentration of these carriers is called the intrinsic carrier concentration,
denoted by ni. Semiconductor material which has not had impurities added to it
in order to change the carrier concentrations is called intrinsic material.
 The intrinsic carrier concentration is the number of electrons in the conduction
band or the number of holes in the valence band in intrinsic material.
 This number of carriers depends on the band gap of the material and on the
temperature of the material.
 Intrinsic Carrier Concentration of Si as a Function of Temperature
 At 300 K the generally accepted value for the intrinsic carrier concentration of
silicon, ni, is 1.01 x 1010 cm-3
Semiconductors
Semiconductors
Semiconductors
Semiconductors
Semiconductors
Density of States in an Energy Band
Boltzmann Statistics
Boltzmann Statistics
Fermi-Dirac Statistics
Free Electron Model
Free Electron Model
Silicon Crystal and Energy Band Diagram
Silicon Crystal and Energy Band Diagram
Electrons and Holes
Electrons and Holes
Electrons and Holes
Conduction in Semiconductor
Electron and Hole Conduction
Extrinsic Semiconductors
Temperature Dependence of Conductivity
PN Junction
 Doping
 It is possible to shift the balance of electrons and holes in a silicon crystal lattice
by "doping" it with other atoms.
 Atoms with one more valence electron than silicon are used to produce "n-type"
semiconductor material.
 These n-type materials are group V elements in the periodic table, and thus their
atoms have 5 valence electrons that can form covalent bonds with the 4 valence
electrons that silicon atoms have.
 Therefore, more electrons are added to the conduction band and hence increases
the number of electrons present.
 Atoms with one less valence electron result in "p-type" material. These p-type
materials are group III elements in the periodic table.
 Therefore, p-type material has only 3 valence electrons with which to interact
with silicon atoms. The net result is a hole, as not enough electrons are present to
form the 4 covalent bonds surrounding the atoms.
 In p-type material, the number of electrons trapped in bonds is higher, thus
effectively increasing the number of holes.
PN Junction
 Doping
 In doped material, there is always more of one type of carrier than the other and
the type of carrier with the higher concentration is called a "majority carrier",
while the lower concentration carrier is called a "minority carrier."
PN Junction
 Doping
 In a typical semiconductor there might be 1017cm-3 majority carriers and 106cm-3
minority carriers.
 Expressed in a different form, the ratio of minority to majority carriers is less than
one person to the entire population of the planet.
 Minority carriers are created either thermally or by incident photons.
PN Junction
 Equilibrium Carrier Concentration

 The number of carriers in the conduction and valence band with no externally
applied bias is called the equilibrium carrier concentration.
 For majority carriers, the equilibrium carrier concentration is equal to the
intrinsic carrier concentration plus the number of free carriers added by doping
the semiconductor.
 Under most conditions, the doping of the semiconductor is several orders of
magnitude greater than the intrinsic carrier concentration, such that the number of
majority carriers is approximately equal to the doping.
 At equilibrium, the product of the majority and minority carrier concentration is a
constant, and this is mathematically expressed by the Law of Mass Action.
 where ni is the intrinsic carrier concentration and n0 and p0 are the electron and
hole equilibrium carrier concentrations.
PN Junction
 Equilibrium Carrier Concentration

 Using the Law of Mass Action above, the majority and minority carrier
concentrations are given as:
 where ND is the concentration of donor atoms and NA is the concentration of

acceptor atoms.
 The above equations show that the number of minority carriers decreases as the
doping level increases. For example, in n-type material, some of the extra
electrons added by doping the material will occupy the empty spots (i.e., holes) in
the valance band, thus lowering the number of holes.
PN Junction
 Absorption of Light
 When the energy of a photon is equal to or greater than the band gap of the
material, the photon is absorbed by the material and excites an electron into the
conduction band.
 Both a minority and majority carrier are generated when a photon is absorbed.
 The generation of charge carriers by photons is the basis of the photovoltaic
production of energy.
 Photons falling onto a semiconductor material can be divided into three groups
based on their energy compared to that of the semiconductor band gap:
 Eph < EG Photons with energy Eph less than the band gap energy EG interact
only weakly with the semiconductor, passing through it as if it were
transparent.
 Eph = EG have just enough energy to create an electron hole pair and are
efficiently absorbed.
 Eph > EG Photons with energy much greater than the band gap are strongly
absorbed. However, for photovoltaic applications, the photon energy greater
than the band gap is wasted as electrons quickly thermalize back down to the
conduction band edges.
PN Junction
 Absorption of Light
 The absorption of photons creates both a majority and a minority carrier.
 In many photovoltaic applications, the number of light-generated carriers are of
orders of magnitude less than the number of majority carriers already present in
the solar cell due to doping.
 Consequently, the number of majority carriers in an illuminated semiconductor
does not alter significantly.
 However, the opposite is true for the number of minority carriers.
 The number of photo-generated minority carriers outweighs the number of
minority carriers existing in the doped solar cell in the dark (because in doping
the minority carrier concentration is so small), and therefore the number of
minority carriers in an illuminated solar cell can be approximated by the number
of light generated carriers.
PN Junction
 Absorption Coefficient
 The absorption coefficient determines how far into a material light of a particular
wavelength can penetrate before it is absorbed.
 In a material with a low absorption coefficient, light is only poorly absorbed, and
if the material is thin enough, it will appear transparent to that wavelength.
 The absorption coefficient depends on the material and also on the wavelength of
light which is being absorbed.
 Semiconductor materials have a sharp edge in their absorption coefficient, since
light which has energy below the band gap does not have sufficient energy to
excite an electron into the conduction band from the valence bad.
 Consequently this light is not absorbed. The absorption coefficient for several
semiconductor materials is shown below.
PN Junction
PN Junction
 The above graph shows that even for those photons which have an energy above
the band gap, the absorption coefficient is not constant, but still depends strongly
on wavelength.
 The probability of absorbing a photon depends on the likelihood of having a
photon and an electron interact in such a way as to move from one energy band to
another.
 For photons which have an energy very close to that of the band gap, the
absorption is relatively low since only those electrons directly at the valence band
edge can interact with the photon to cause absorption.
 As the photon energy increases, not just the electrons already having energy close
to that of the band gap can interact with the photon. Therefore, a larger number of
electrons can interact with the photon and result in the photon being absorbed.
 where λ is the wavelength. If λ is in nm, multiply by 107 to get the absorption

coefficient in the units of cm-1.
PN Junction
 Absorption Depth
 The absorption depth is given by the inverse of the absorption coefficient, and
describes how deeply light penetrates into a semiconductor before being absorbed.
 The absorption depth is given by the inverse of the absorption coefficient, or α-1.
 Higher energy light is of a shorter wavelength and has a shorter absorption depth
than lower energy light, which is not as readily absorbed, and has a greater
absorption depth.
 Absorption depth affects aspects of solar cell design, such as the thickness of the
semiconductor material.
PN Junction
 Generation Rate
 The generation rate gives the number of electrons generated at each point in the
device due to the absorption of photons. Generation is an important parameter in
solar cell operation.
 Neglecting reflection, the amount of light which is absorbed by a material
depends on the absorption coefficient (α in cm-1) and the thickness of the
absorbing material.
 The intensity of light at any point in the device can be calculated according to the
equation:
 where α is the absorption coefficient typically in cm-1; x is the distance into the
material at which the light intensity is being calculated; and I0 is the light
intensity at the top surface.
 The above equation can be used to calculate the number of electron-hole pairs
being generated in a solar cell.
PN Junction
 Generation Rate
 Assuming that the loss in light intensity (i.e., the absorption of photons) directly
causes the generation of an electron-hole pair, then the generation G in a thin slice
of material is determined by finding the change in light intensity across this slice.
 Consequently, differentiating the above equation will give the generation at any
point in the device. Hence:
 where N0 = photon flux at the surface (photons/unit-area/sec.);

α = absorption coefficient; and
x = distance into the material.
 The above equations show that the light intensity exponentially decreases
throughout the material and further that the generation is highest at the surface of
the material.
 For photovoltaic applications, the incident light consists of a combination of
many different wavelengths, and therefore the generation rate at each wavelength
is different.
PN Junction
 Generation Rate
 To calculate the generation for a collection of different wavelengths, the net
generation is the sum of the generation for each wavelength.
 The generation as a function of distance for a standard solar spectrum (AM 1.5)
incident on a piece of silicon is shown below.
 The y-axis scale is logarithmic showing that there is an enormously greater
generation of electron-hole pairs near the front surface of the cell, while further
into the solar cell the generation rate becomes nearly constant.
PN Junction
 Recombination
 Any electron which exists in the conduction band is in a meta-stable state and will
eventually stabilize to a lower energy position in the valence band.
 When this occurs, it must move into an empty valence band state. Therefore,
when the electron stabilizes back down into the valence band, it also effectively
removes a hole.
 This process is called recombination. There are three basic types of recombination
in the bulk of a single-crystal semiconductor. These are:
 Radiative recombination;
 Auger recombination; and
 Shockley-Read-Hall recombination.
PN Junction
 Radiative (Band-to-Band) Recombination
 Radiative recombination is the recombination mechanism that dominates in direct
bandgap semiconductors.
 The light produced from a light emitting diode (LED) is the most obvious
example of radiative recombination in a semiconductor device.
 Concentrator and space solar cells cells are typically made from direct bandgap
materials (GaAs etc) and radiative recombination dominates.
 However, most terrestrial solar cells are made from silicon, which is an indirect
bandgap semiconductor and radiative recombination is extremely low and usually
neglected.
 The key characteristics of radiative recombination are:
In radiative recombination, an electron directly combines with a hole in the
conduction band and releases a photon; and
The emitted photon has an energy similar to the band gap and is therefore only
weakly absorbed such that it can exit the piece of semiconductor.
PN Junction
 Recombination thorough Defect Levels
 Recombination through defects, also called Shockley-Read-Hall or SRH
recombination, does not occur in perfectly pure, undefected material. SRH
recombination is a two-step process.
 The two steps involved in SRH recombination are:
An electron (or hole) is trapped by an energy state in the forbidden region which
is introduced through defects in the crystal lattice. These defects can either be
unintentionally introduced or deliberately added to the material, for example in
doping the material; and
If a hole (or an electron) moves up to the same energy state before the electron is
thermally re-emitted into the conduction band, then it recombines.
 The rate at which a carrier moves into the energy level in the forbidden gap
depends on the distance of the introduced energy level from either of the band
edges.
 Therefore, if an energy is introduced close to either band edge, recombination is
less likely as the electron is likely to be re-emitted to the conduction band edge
rather than recombine with a hole which moves into the same energy state from
the valence band.
 For this reason, energy levels near mid-gap are very effective for recombination.
PN Junction
 Auger Recombination
 Auger Recombination involves three carriers.
 An electron and a hole recombine, but rather than emitting the energy as heat or
as a photon, the energy is given to a third carrier, an electron in the conduction
band.
 This electron then thermalizes back down to the conduction band edge.
 Auger recombination is most important at high carrier concentrations caused by
heavy doping or high level injection under concentrated sunlight.
 In silicon-based solar cells (the most popular), Auger recombination limits the
lifetime and ultimate efficiency.
 The more heavily doped the material is, the shorter the Auger recombination
lifetime.
PN Junction
 Life Time
 If the number of minority carriers is increased above that at equilibrium by some
transient external excitation (such as incident sun), the excess minority carrier s
will decay back to that equilibrium carrier concentration due to and through the
process of recombination.
 A critical parameter in a solar cell is the rate at which recombination occurs.
 Such a process, known as the "recombination rate" depends on the number of
excess minority carriers.
 If for example, there are no excess minority carriers, then the recombination rate
must be zero.
 Two parameters that are integral to recombination rate are the minority carrier
lifetime and the minority carrier diffusion length.
 The minority carrier lifetime of a material, denoted by τn or τp, is the average time
which a carrier can spend in an excited state after electron-hole generation before
it recombines.
 It is often just referred to as the "lifetime" and has nothing to do with the stability
of the material.
PN Junction
 Life Time
 Stating that "a silicon wafer has a long lifetime" usually means minority carriers
generated in the bulk of the wafer by light or other means will persist for a long
time before recombining.
 Depending on the structure, solar cells made from wafers with long minority
carrier lifetimes will usually be more efficient than cells made from wafers with
short minority carrier lifetimes.
 The low level injected material (where the number of minority carriers is less than
the doping) the lifetime is related to the recombination rate by:
 where τ is the minority carrier lifetime, Δn is the excess minority carriers

concentration and R is the recombination rate.
 Auger lifetime is a function of the carrier concentration

and is given by:
 Where the auger coefficient, C, for silicon is typically given as: 1.66 × 10-30cm6/s
PN Junction
 Diffusion Length
 The second related parameter to recombination rate, the "minority carrier
diffusion length," is the average distance a carrier can move from point of
generation until it recombines.
 The minority carrier lifetime and the diffusion length depend strongly on the type
and magnitude of recombination processes in the semiconductor.
 For many types of silicon solar cells, SRH recombination is the dominant
recombination mechanism.
 The recombination rate will depend on the number of defects present in the
material, so that as doping the semiconductor increases the defects in the solar
cell, doping will also increase the rate of SRH recombination.
 In addition, since Auger recombination is more likely in heavily doped and
excited material, the recombination process is itself enhanced as the doping
increases.
 The method used to fabricate the semiconductor wafer and the processing also
have a major impact on the diffusion length.
PN Junction
 Diffusion Length
 In silicon, the lifetime can be as high as 1 msec. For a single crystalline silicon
solar cell, the diffusion length is typically 100-300 µm.
 These two parameters give an indication of material quality and suitability for
solar cell use.
 The diffusion length is related to the carrier lifetime by the diffusivity according
to the following formula:
 where L is the diffusion length in metres, D is the diffusivity in m²/s and τ is the
lifetime in seconds.
PN Junction
 Surface Recombination
 Any defects or impurities within or at the surface of the semiconductor promote
recombination.
 Since the surface of the solar cell represents a severe disruption of the crystal
lattice, the surfaces of the solar cell are a site of particularly high recombination.
 The high recombination rate in the vicinity of a surface depletes this region of
minority carriers.
 A localized region of low carrier concentration causes carriers to flow into this
region from the surrounding, higher concentration regions.
 Therefore, the surface recombination rate is limited by the rate at which minority
carriers move towards the surface.
 A parameter called the "surface recombination velocity", in units of cm/sec, is
used to specify the recombination at a surface.
 In a surface with no recombination, the movement of carriers towards the surface
is zero, and hence the surface recombination velocity is zero.
 In a surface with infinitely fast recombination, the movement of carriers towards
this surface is limited by the maximum velocity they can attain, and for most
semiconductors is on the order of 1 x 107 cm/sec.
PN Junction
 The defects at a semiconductor surface are caused by the interruption to the

periodicity of the crystal lattice, which causes dangling bonds at the
semiconductor surface.
 The reduction of the number of dangling bonds, and hence surface recombination,
is achieved by growing a layer on top of the semiconductor surface which ties up
some of these dangling bonds.
 This reduction of dangling bonds is known as surface passivation.
PN Junction
 Movement of Carriers in Semiconductors
 Electrons in the conduction band and holes in the valence band are considered
"free" carriers in the sense that they can move throughout the semiconductor
lattice that makes up the crystal structure of the material.
 The carrier moves in this random direction for a distance called the scattering
length before colliding with a lattice atom.
 Once the collision takes place, the carrier moves away in a different random
direction.
PN Junction
 Movement of Carriers in Semiconductors
 The velocity of the carriers is determined by the temperature of the lattice.
Carriers in a semiconductor crystal at a temperature T move on average.
 The thermal velocity is the average carrier velocity.
 Carriers have a thermal velocity that is normally distributed around this average
thermal velocity. Therefore, some carriers having a greater velocity and some
lower.
 There is no net movement of carriers in any direction. Each direction of carrier
movement is equally likely, therefore the motion of a carrier in one direction will
eventually be balanced by the movement of the carrier in the opposite direction.
 Although carriers in a semiconductor are in constant random motion, there
is no net motion of carriers unless there is a concentration gradient or an
electric field.
PN Junction
 Diffusion
 The constant random motion of carriers can lead to a net movement of carriers if
one particular region has a higher concentration of carriers than another region (a
concentration gradient between the high carrier-concentration region and the low
carrier-concentration region).
 When carriers are bouncing around randomly, there are more places for them to
go where that are low-concentration carrier areas than high.
 The net movement of carriers is therefore from areas of high concentration to low.
 The rate at which diffusion occurs depends on the velocity at which carriers move
and on the distance between scattering events. It is termed diffusivity and
measured in cm2s-1.
 Since raising the temperature will increase the thermal velocity of the carriers,
diffusion occurs faster at higher temperatures.
 One major effect of diffusion is that, with time, it evens out the carrier
concentrations in a device, such as those induced by generation and
recombination, without an external force being applied to the device.
PN Junction
 Drift
 As noted in the movement of carriers page, in the absence of an electric field,
carriers move a certain distance at a constant velocity in a random direction.
 However, in the presence of an electric field, superimposed on this random
direction, and in the presence of thermal velocity, carriers move in a net
direction.
 There is an acceleration in the direction of the electric field if the carrier is a hole
or opposite to the electric field if the carrier is an electron.
 The direction of the carrier is obtained as a vector addition between its direction
and the electric field.
 The net carrier movement in the presence of an electric field is characterized by
mobility, which varies between different semiconductor materials.
PN Junction
 Drift
PN Junction
 Drift
 Transport due to the movement of carriers due to the presence of an electric field
is called "drift transport". Drift transport is the type of transport that occurs not
only in semiconductor material, but also in metals.
 Since the electron has a negative charge, it will tend to move in the direction
opposite to the electric field. Notice that in the majority of cases, the electron
moves in the direction opposite to the electric field.
 When the field is turned on the electrons and holes drift in opposite directions.
PN Junction
 Drift Equation (Conductivity and Mobility)

 One-dimensional drift equation is given by the following formula.
 where Jx is the current density in the x-direction, Ex - electric field applied in the
x-direction, q - electron charge, n and p - electron and hole concentrations, µn and
µp - electron and hole mobilities.
 To derive the drift equation let's consider the bulk of semiconductor.
 If the electric field Ex is applied in the x-direction each electron experiences a net
force which leads to additional acceleration in the direction opposite to the
direction of the field.
 The net acceleration in the case of steady state current flow is balanced by the
decelerations of the collision processes. If N(t) is the number of electrons that
have not undergone a collision by time t, then the rate of decrease N(t) is
proportional to the number left unscattered at t.
PN Junction
 Where τ represents the mean time between scattering events.

 The probability that an electron has a collision in dt is , then the differential
change in px due to collisions in dt is
 where n is the electron concentration.

 And average momentum per electron is
 The net drift speed is equal to

PN Junction

 The current density is the number of electrons crossing the unit area per unit time
 Where is the conductivity of a semiconductor and
is the mobility of carriers.
 Rearranging gives
 Finally considering both hole and electron conduction

PN Junction
 Formation of a PN-Junction
 P-n junctions are formed by joining n-type and p-type semiconductor materials.
 Since the n-type region has a high electron concentration and the p-type a high
hole concentration, electrons diffuse from the n-type side to the p-type side.
Similarly, holes flow by diffusion from the p-type side to the n-type side.
 If the electrons and holes were not charged, this diffusion process would continue
until the concentration of electrons and holes on the two sides were the same, as
happens if two gasses come into contact with each other.
 However, in a p-n junction, when the electrons and holes move to the other side
of the junction, they leave behind exposed charges on dopant atom sites, which
are fixed in the crystal lattice and are unable to move.
 On the n-type side, positive ion cores are exposed. On the p-type side, negative
ion cores are exposed.
 An electric field Ê forms between the positive ion cores in the n-type material and
negative ion cores in the p-type material.
 This region is called the "depletion region" since the electric field quickly sweeps
free carriers out, hence the region is depleted of free carriers.
PN Junction
 Formation of a PN-Junction
 A "built in" potential Vbi due to Ê is formed at the junction.
 The schematic diagram below shows the formation of the Ê at the junction
between n and p-type material
PN Junction
 PN-Junction Diodes
 P-n junction diodes form the basis not only of solar cells, but of many other
electronic devices such as LEDs, lasers, photodiodes and bipolar junction
transistors (BJTs).
 A p-n junction aggregates the recombination, generation, diffusion and drift
effects.
 Carrier Movement in Equilibrium
 A p-n junction with no external inputs represents an equilibrium between carrier
generation, recombination, diffusion and drift in the presence of the electric field
in the depletion region.
 Despite the presence of the electric field, which creates an impediment to the
diffusion of carriers across the electric field, some carriers still cross the junction
by diffusion.
 Most majority carriers which enter the depletion region move back towards the
region from which they originated. However, statistically some carriers will have
a high velocity and travel in a sufficient net direction such that they cross the
junction.
PN Junction
PN Junction
 Once a majority carrier crosses the junction, it becomes a minority carrier.
 It will continue to diffuse away from the junction and can travel a distance on
average equal to the diffusion length before it recombines.
 The current caused by the diffusion of carriers across the junction is called a
diffusion current.
 Minority carriers which reach the edge of the diffusion region are swept across it
by the electric field in the depletion region.
 This current is called the drift current. In equilibrium the drift current is limited
by the number of minority carriers which are thermally generated within a
diffusion length of the junction.
 In equilibrium, the net current from the device is zero. The electron drift current
and the electron diffusion current exactly balance out (if they did not there would
be a net buildup of electrons on either one side or the other of the device).
 Similarly, the hole drift current and the hole diffusion current also balance each
other out.
PN Junction
PN Junction
 Semiconductor devices have three modes of operation:
1. Thermal Equilibrium: At thermal equilibrium there are no external inputs such
as light or applied voltage. The currents balance each other out so there is no
net current within the device.
2. Steady State: Under steady state there are external inputs such as light or
applied voltage, but the conditions do not change with time. Devices typically
operate in steady state and are either in forward or reverse bias.
3. Transient: If the applied voltage changes rapidly, there will be a short delay
before the solar cell responds. As solar cells are not used for high speed
operation there are few extra transient effects that need to be taken into account.
 Diodes under forward bias
 Forward bias refers to the application of voltage across the device such that the
electric field at the junction is reduced.
 By applying a positive voltage to the p-type material and a negative voltage to the
n-type material, an electric field with opposite direction to that in the depletion
region is applied across the device.
PN Junction
 Since the resistivity of the depletion region is much higher than that in the
remainder of the device (due to the limited number of carriers in the depletion
region), nearly all of the applied electric field is dropped across the depletion
region.
 The net electric field is the difference between the existing field in the depletion
region and the applied field (for realistic devices, the built-in field is always larger
than the applied field), thus reducing the net electric field in the depletion region.
 Reducing the electric field disturbs the equilibrium existing at the junction,
reducing the barrier to the diffusion of carriers from one side of the junction to the
other and increasing the diffusion current.
 While the diffusion current increases, the drift current remains essentially
unchanged since it depends on the number of carriers generated within a diffusion
length of the depletion region or in the depletion region itself.
 Since the depletion region is only reduced in width by a minor amount, the
number of minority carriers swept across the junction is essentially unchanged.
PN Junction
PN Junction
PN Junction
 Carrier Injection and Forward Bias Current Flow
 The increased diffusion from one side of the junction to the other causes minority
carrier injection at the edge of the depletion region.
 These carriers move away from the junction due to diffusion and will eventually
recombine with a majority carrier. The majority carrier is supplied from the
external circuit and hence a net current flows under forward bias.
 In the absence of recombination, the minority carrier concentration would reach a
new, higher equilibrium concentration and the diffusion of carriers from one side
of the junction to the other would cease.
 In a semiconductor however, the injected minority carriers recombine and thus
more carriers can diffuse across the junction. Consequently, the diffusion current
which flows in forward bias is a recombination current. The higher the rate of
recombination events, the greater the current which flows across the junction.
 The "dark saturation current" (I0) is an extremely important parameter which
differentiates one diode from another. I0 is a measure of the recombination in a
device. A diode with a larger recombination will have a larger I0.
PN Junction
 Reverse Bias
 In reverse bias a voltage is applied across the device such that the electric field at
the junction increases.
 The higher electric field in the depletion region decreases the probability that
carriers can diffuse from one side of the junction to the other, hence the diffusion
current decreases.
 A small increase in the drift current is experienced due to the small increase in the
width of the depletion region, but this is essentially a second-order effect in
silicon solar cells.
 In many thin film solar cells where the depletion region is around half the
thickness of the solar cell the change in depletion region width with voltage has a
large impact on cell operation.
PN Junction
 Diodes under reverse bias
PN Junction
 Diodes under reverse bias
PN Junction
 Non-Ideal Diodes
 The diode equation gives an expression for the current through a diode as a
function of voltage. The Ideal Diode Law, expressed as:
 In real devices, the saturation current is strongly dependent on the device

temperature. Similarly, mechanisms that change the ideality factor also impact the
saturation current.
Solar cell operation
 Solar cell structure

 A solar cell is an electronic device which directly converts sunlight into electricity.
 (1) This process requires firstly, a material in which the absorption of light raises
an electron to a higher energy state, and (2) secondly, the movement of this higher
energy electron from the solar cell into an external circuit. (3) The electron then
dissipates its energy in the external circuit and returns to the solar cell.
 Light Generated Current

 The generation of current in a solar cell, known as the "light-generated current",
involves two key processes.
 The first process is the absorption of incident photons to create electron-hole pairs.
 Electron-hole pairs will be generated in the solar cell provided that the incident
photon has an energy greater than that of the band gap.
 However, electrons (in the p-type material), and holes (in the n-type material) are
meta-stable and will only exist, on average, for a length of time equal to the
minority carrier lifetime before they recombine. If the carrier recombines, then
the light-generated electron-hole pair is lost and no current or power can be
generated.
 Light Generated Current

 A second process, the collection of these carriers by the p-n junction, prevents this
recombination by using a p-n junction to spatially separate the electron and the
hole.
 The carriers are separated by the action of the electric field existing at the p-n
junction.
 If the light-generated minority carrier reaches the p-n junction, it is swept across
the junction by the electric field at the junction, where it is now a majority carrier.
 If the emitter and base of the solar cell are connected together (i.e., if the solar
cell is short-circuited), the light-generated carriers flow through the external
circuit.
(1) (2)
(4) (3)
 Collection probability
 The "collection probability" describes the probability that a light generated carrier
absorbed in a certain region of the device will be collected by the p-n junction and
therefore contribute to the light-generated current, but probability depends on the
distance that a light-generated carrier must travel compared to the diffusion length.
 The collection probability of carriers generated in the depletion region is unity as
the electron-hole pair are quickly swept apart by the electric field and are
collected.
 Away from the junction, the collection probability drops. If the carrier is
generated more than a diffusion length away from the junction, then the collection
probability of this carrier is quite low.
 Similarly, if the carrier is generated closer to a region such as a surface with
higher recombination than the junction, then the carrier will recombine. The
impact of surface passivation and diffusion length on collection probability is
illustrated.
 The collection probability in conjunction with the generation rate in the solar cell
determine the light-generated current from the solar cell.
 The light-generated current is the integration over the entire device thickness of
the generation rate at a particular point in the device, multiplied by the collection
probability at that point.
 The equation for the light-generated current density (JL), with an arbitrary
generation rate (G(x))and collection probability (CP(x)), is shown below, as is the
generation rate in silicon due to the AM1.5 solar spectrum:
 where:
q is the electronic charge;
W is the thickness of the device;
α(λ) is the absorption coefficient;
H0 is the number of photons at each wavelength.
 A non-uniform collection probability will cause a spectral dependence in the

light-generated current.
 For example, at the surfaces, the collection probability is lower than in the bulk.
Comparing the generation rates for blue, green and infrared light below, blue light
is nearly completely absorbed in the first few tenths of a micron in silicon.
Therefore, if the collection probability at the front surface is low, any blue light in
the solar spectrum does not contribute to the light-generated current.
 Quantum efficiency
 The "quantum efficiency" (Q.E.) is the ratio of the number of carriers collected by
the solar cell to the number of photons of a given energy incident on the solar cell.
 The quantum efficiency may be given either as a function of wavelength or as
energy.
 If all photons of a certain wavelength are absorbed and the resulting minority
carriers are collected, then the quantum efficiency at that particular wavelength is
unity.
 The quantum efficiency for photons with energy below the band gap is zero.
 While quantum efficiency ideally has the square shape shown above, the quantum
efficiency for most solar cells is reduced due to recombination effects.
 The same mechanisms which affect the collection probability also affect the
quantum efficiency.
 For example, front surface passivation affects carriers generated near the surface,
and since blue light is absorbed very close to the surface, high front surface
recombination will affect the "blue" portion of the quantum efficiency.
 Similarly, green light is absorbed in the bulk of a solar cell and a low diffusion
length will affect the collection probability from the solar cell bulk and reduce the
quantum efficiency in the green portion of the spectrum.
 The quantum efficiency can be viewed as the collection probability due the
generation profile of a single wavelength, integrated over the device thickness
and normalized to the incident number of photons.
 The "external" quantum efficiency of a silicon solar cell includes the effect of
optical losses such as transmission and reflection.
 However, it is often useful to look at the quantum efficiency of the light left after
the reflected and transmitted light has been lost.
 "Internal" quantum efficiency refers to the efficiency with which photons that are
not reflected or transmitted out of the cell can generate collectable carriers.
 By measuring the reflection and transmission of a device, the external quantum
efficiency curve can be corrected to obtain the internal quantum efficiency curve.
 Spectral Response
 The spectral response is conceptually similar to the quantum efficiency.
 The quantum efficiency gives the number of electrons output by the solar cell
compared to the number of photons incident on the device, while the spectral
response is the ratio of the current generated by the solar cell to the power
incident on the solar cell.
 Spectral Response
 The ideal spectral response is limited at long wavelengths by the inability of the
semiconductor to absorb photons with energies below the band gap.
 However, unlike the square shape of QE curves, the spectral response decreases at
small photon wavelengths. At these wavelengths, each photon has a large energy,
and hence the ratio of photons to power is reduced.
 Any energy above the band gap energy is not utilised by the solar cell and instead
goes to heating the solar cell. (1)The inability to fully utilize the incident energy
at high energies, and (2)the inability to absorb low energies of light represents a
significant power loss in solar cells consisting of a single p-n junction.
 Spectral response is important since it is the spectral response that is measured
from a solar cell, and the quantum efficiency is calculated from this spectral
response.
 The quantum efficiency can be determined from the spectral response by
replacing the power of the light at a particular wavelength with the photon flux
for that wavelength. This gives:
 The photovoltaic effect

 The collection of light-generated carriers does not by itself give rise to power
generation.
 In order to generate power, a voltage must be generated as well as a current.
Voltage is generated in a solar cell by a process known as the "photovoltaic
effect".
 The collection of light-generated carriers by the p-n junction causes a movement
of electrons to the n-type side and holes to the p-type side of the junction.
 Under short circuit conditions, there is no build up of charge, as the carriers exit
the device as light-generated current.
 However, if the light-generated carriers are prevented from leaving the solar cell,
then the collection of light-generated carriers causes an increase in the number of
electrons on the n-type side of the p-n junction and a similar increase in holes in
the p-type material.
 This separation of charge creates an electric field at the junction which is in
opposition to that already existing at the junction, thereby reducing the net
electric field.
 The photovoltaic effect

 Since the electric field represents a barrier to the flow of the forward bias
diffusion current, the reduction of the electric field increases the diffusion current.
 The current from the solar cell is the difference between IL and the forward bias
current.
 Under open circuit conditions, the forward bias of the junction increases to a
point where the light-generated current is exactly balanced by the forward bias
diffusion current, and the net current is zero.
 The voltage required to cause these two currents to balance is called the "open-
circuit voltage".
 In equilibrium (i.e. in the dark) both the diffusion and drift current are small.
 Under open circuit conditions, the light-generated carriers forward bias the
junction, thus increasing the diffusion current. Since the drift and diffusion
current are in opposite direction, there is no net current from the solar cell at open
circuit.
 Under short circuit conditions, the minority carrier concentration on either side of
the junction is increased and the drift current, which depends on the number of
minority carriers, is increased.
Solar cell Parameters
 IV Curve
 The IV curve of a solar cell is the superposition of the IV curve of the solar cell
diode in the dark with the light-generated current.
 The light has the effect of shifting the IV curve down into the fourth quadrant
where power can be extracted from the diode.
 Illuminating a cell adds to the normal "dark" currents in the diode so that the
diode law becomes:
 where IL = light generated current.

 The equation for the IV curve in the first quadrant is:
 The exponential term is usually >> 1 except for voltages below 100 mV. Further,
at low voltages the light generated current IL dominates the I0 (...) term so the -1
term is not needed under illumination.
Solar cell parameters
(1) (2)
(4) (3)
 Short-Circuit Current
 The short-circuit current is the current through the solar cell when the voltage
across the solar cell is zero (i.e., when the solar cell is short circuited). Usually
written as ISC, the short-circuit current is shown on the IV curve below.
 The short-circuit current is due to the generation and collection of light-generated

carriers. For an ideal solar cell at most moderate resistive loss mechanisms, the
short-circuit current and the light-generated current are identical. Therefore, the
short-circuit current is the largest current which may be drawn from the solar cell.
 The short-circuit current depends on a number of factors which are described
below:
 When comparing solar cells of the same material type, the most critical material
parameter is the diffusion length and surface passivation. In a cell with perfectly
passivated surface and uniform generation, the equation for the short-circuit
current can be approximated as:
 where G is the generation rate, and Ln and Lp are the electron and hole diffusion
lengths respectively.
 Silicon solar cells under an AM1.5 spectrum have a maximum possible current of
46 mA/cm2. Laboratory devices have measured short-circuit currents of over 42
mA/cm2, and commercial solar cell have short-circuit currents between about 28
mA/cm2 and 35 mA/cm2.
 Open-Circuit Voltage
 The open-circuit voltage, VOC, is the maximum voltage available from a solar cell,
and this occurs at zero current. The open-circuit voltage corresponds to the
amount of forward bias on the solar cell due to the bias of the solar cell junction
with the light-generated current. The open-circuit voltage is shown on the IV
curve below.
 An equation for Voc is found by setting the net current equal to zero in the solar
cell equation to give:
 Open-Circuit Voltage
 The above equation shows that Voc depends on the saturation current of the solar
cell and the light-generated current.
 While Isc typically has a small variation, the key effect is the saturation current,
since this may vary by orders of magnitude.
 The saturation current, I0 depends on recombination in the solar cell.
 Open-circuit voltage is then a measure of the amount of recombination in the
device.
 Silicon solar cells on high quality single crystalline material have open-circuit
voltages of up to 730 mV under one sun and AM1.5 conditions, while commercial
devices on multicrystalline silicon typically have open-circuit voltages around
600 mV.
 The VOC can also be determined from the carrier concentration
 where kT/q is the thermal voltage, NA is the doping concentration, Δn is the

excess carrier concentration and ni is the intrinsic carrier concentration.
 Voc as a function of bandgap, Eg

 Where the short-circuit current (ISC) decreases with increasing bandgap, the open-
circuit voltage increases as the band gap increases. In an ideal device the VOC is
limited by radiative recombination and the analysis uses the principle of detailed
balance to determine the minimum possible value for J0.
 The minimum value of the diode saturation current is given by
 where:


 The J0 calculated above can be directly plugged into the standard solar cell
equation given at the top of the page to determine the VOC so long as the voltage
is less than the band gap, as is the case under one sun illumination.
 Fill Factor
 The short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage are the maximum current
and voltage respectively from a solar cell. However, at both of these operating
points, the power from the solar cell is zero.
 The "fill factor", more commonly known by its abbreviation "FF", is a parameter
which, in conjunction with Voc and Isc, determines the maximum power from a
solar cell.
 The FF is defined as the ratio of the maximum power from the solar cell to the
product of Voc and Isc.
 Graphically, the FF is a measure of the "squareness" of the solar cell and is also
the area of the largest rectangle which will fit in the IV curve.
 Fill Factor
 Fill Factor
 As FF is a measure of the "squareness" of the IV curve, a solar cell with a higher
voltage has a larger possible FF since the "rounded" portion of the IV curve takes
up less area.
 The maximum theoretical FF from a solar cell can be determined by
differentiating the power from a solar cell with respect to voltage and finding
where this is equal to zero. Hence:
 However, the above technique does not yield a simple or closed form equation.
The equation above only relates Voc to Vmp, and extra equations are needed to find
Imp and FF. A more commonly used expression for the FF can be determined
empirically as:
 where voc is defined as a "normalizedVoc":

 Fill Factor
 The above equations show that a higher voltage will have a higher possible FF.
However, large variations in open-circuit voltage within a given material system
are relatively uncommon.
 For example, at one sun, the difference between the maximum open-circuit
voltage measured for a silicon laboratory device and a typical commercial solar
cell is about 120 mV, giving maximum FF's respectively of 0.85 and 0.83.
 However, the variation in maximum FF can be significant for solar cells made
from different materials. For example, a GaAs solar cell may have a FF
approaching 0.89.
 The above equation also demonstrates the importance of the ideality factor, also
known as the "n-factor" of a solar cell. The ideality factor is a measure of the
junction quality and the type of recombination in a solar cell.
 For the simple recombination mechanisms discussed in Types of Recombination,
the n-factor has a value of 1.
 However, some recombination mechanisms, particularly if they are large, may
introduce recombination mechanisms of 2.
 Efficiency
 The efficiency is the most commonly used parameter to compare the performance
of one solar cell to another.
 Efficiency is defined as the ratio of energy output from the solar cell to input
energy from the sun. In addition to reflecting the performance of the solar cell
itself, the efficiency depends on the spectrum and intensity of the incident
sunlight and the temperature of the solar cell.
 Therefore, conditions under which efficiency is measured must be carefully
controlled in order to compare the performance of one device to another.
 Terrestrial solar cells are measured under AM1.5 conditions and at a temperature
of 25°C.
 Solar cells intended for space use are measured under AM0 conditions. The
efficiency of a solar cell is determined as the fraction of incident power which is
converted to electricity and is defined as:
 In a 10 x 10 cm2 cell the input power is 100 mW/cm2 x 100 cm2 = 10 W.

Resistive Effect
 Characteristic Resistance
 The characteristic resistance of a solar cell is the output resistance of the solar cell
at its maximum power point.
 If the resistance of the load is equal to the characteristic resistance of the solar cell,
then the maximum power is transferred to the load and the solar cell operates at
its maximum power point.
 It is a useful parameter in solar cell analysis, particularly when examining the
impact of parasitic loss mechanisms.
 The characteristic resistance of a solar

cell is the inverse of the slope of the line,
shown in the figure
 It can alternately be given as an

approximation where
Resistive Effect
 Effect of Parasitic Resistance

 Resistive effects in solar cells reduce the efficiency of the solar cell by dissipating
power in the resistances.
 The most common parasitic resistances are series resistance and shunt resistance.
 The inclusion of the series and shunt resistance on the solar cell model is shown
in the figure below.
 In most cases and for typical values of shunt and series resistance, the key impact
of parasitic resistance is to reduce the fill factor.
 Both the magnitude and impact of series and shunt resistance depend on the
geometry of the solar cell, at the operating point of the solar cell.
Resistive Effect
 Effect of Parasitic Resistance

 Since the value of resistance will depend on the area of the solar cell, when
comparing the series resistance of solar cells which may have different areas, a
common unit for resistance is in Ωcm2.
 This area-normalized resistance results from replacing current with current
density in Ohm's law as shown below:
Resistive Effect
 Series Resistance
 Series resistance in a solar cell has three causes:
 firstly, the movement of current through the emitter and base of the solar cell
 secondly, the contact resistance between the metal contact and the silicon
 finally the resistance of the top and rear metal contacts
 The main impact of series resistance is to reduce the fill factor, although
excessively high values may also reduce the short-circuit current.
Resistive Effect
 where: I is the cell output current, IL is the light generated current, V is the voltage
across the cell terminals, T is the temperature, q and k are constants, n is the
ideality factor, and RS is the cell series resistance.
 The formula is an example of an implicit function due to the appearance of the
current, I, on both sides of the equation and requires numerical methods to solve.
 Series resistance does not affect the solar cell at open-circuit voltage since the
overall current flow through the solar cell, and therefore through the series
resistance is zero.
 However, near the open-circuit voltage, the IV curve is strongly effected by the
series resistance.
 A straight-forward method of estimating the series resistance from a solar cell is
to find the slope of the IV curve at the open-circuit voltage point.
Resistive Effect
 Shunt Resistance
 Significant power losses caused by the presence of a shunt resistance, RSH, are
typically due to manufacturing defects, rather than poor solar cell design.
 Low shunt resistance causes power losses in solar cells by providing an alternate
current path for the light-generated current.
 Such a diversion reduces the amount of current flowing through the solar cell
junction and reduces the voltage from the solar cell.
 The effect of a shunt resistance is particularly severe at low light levels, since
there will be less light-generated current.
 The loss of this current to the shunt therefore has a larger impact.
 In addition, at lower voltages where the effective resistance of the solar cell is
high, the impact of a resistance in parallel is large.
Resistive Effect
 Shunt Resistance
 The equation for a solar cell in presence of a shunt resistance is:
 where: I is the cell output current, IL is the light generated current, V is the voltage
across the cell terminals, T is the temperature, q and k are constants, n is the
ideality factor, and RSH is the cell shunt resistance.
 An estimate for the value of the shunt resistance of a solar cell can be determined
from the slope of the IV curve near the short-circuit current point.
 The impact of the shunt resistance on the fill factor can be calculated in a manner
similar to that used to find the impact of series resistance on fill factor.
 The maximum power may be approximated as the power in the absence of shunt
resistance, minus the power lost in the shunt resistance.
Resistive Effect
 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.
Resistive Effect
 Effect of Light Intensity
 Changing the light intensity incident on a solar cell changes all solar cell
parameters, including the short-circuit current, the open-circuit voltage, the FF,
the efficiency and the impact of series and shunt resistances.
 The light intensity on a solar cell is called the number of suns, where 1 sun
corresponds to standard illumination at AM1.5, or 1 kW/m2.
 For example a system with 10 kW/m2 incident on the solar cell would be
operating at 10 suns, or at 10X.
 A PV module designed to operate under 1 sun conditions is called a "flat plate"
module while those using concentrated sunlight are called "concentrators".
Resistive Effect
 Concentrators
 A concentrator is a solar cell designed to operate under illumination greater than 1
sun.
 The incident sunlight is focused or guided by optical elements such that a high
intensity light beam shines on a small solar cell.
 Concentrators have several potential advantages, including a higher efficiency
potential than a one-sun solar cell and the possibility of lower cost.
 The short-circuit current from a solar cell depends linearly on light intensity, such
that a device operating under 10 suns would have 10 times the short-circuit
current as the same device under one sun operation.
 However, this effect does not provide an efficiency increase, since the incident
power also increases linearly with concentration.
 Instead, the efficiency benefits arise from the logarithmic dependence of the
open-circuit voltage on short circuit. Therefore, under concentration, Voc increases
logarithmically with light intensity, as shown in the equation below;
 where X is the concentration of sunlight.

Resistive Effect
 Low Light Intensity
 Solar cells experience daily variations in light intensity, with the incident power
from the sun varying between 0 and 1 kW/m2.
 At low light levels, the effect of the shunt resistance becomes increasingly
important.
 As the light intensity decreases, the bias point and current through the solar cell
also decreases, and the equivalent resistance of the solar cell may begin to
approach the shunt resistance.
 When these two resistances are similar, the fraction of the total current flowing
through the shunt resistance increases, thereby increasing the fractional power
loss due to shunt resistance.
 Consequently, under cloudy conditions, a solar cell with a high shunt resistance
retains a greater fraction of its original power than a solar cell with a low shunt
resistance.
Resistive Effect
 Ideal Factor
 The ideality factor of a diode is a measure of how closely the diode follows the
ideal diode equation.
 The ideal diode equation assumes that all the recombination occurs via band to
band or recombination via traps in the bulk areas from the device (i.e. not in the
junction).
 Using that assumption the derivation produces the ideal diode equation below and
the ideality factor, n, is equal to one.
 These recombinations produce ideality factors that deviate from the ideal.
Solar Cell Design Principles
 Principles
 Solar cell design involves specifying the parameters of a solar cell structure in
order to maximise efficiency, given a certain set of constraints.
 The theoretical efficiency for photovoltaic conversion is in excess of 86.8%.

However, the 86.8% figure uses detailed balance calculations and does not
describe device implementation.
 For silicon solar cells, a more realistic efficiency under one sun operation is about
29% . The maximum efficiency measured for a silicon solar cell is currently
24.7% under AM1.5G.
 Principles
 The difference between the high theoretical efficiencies and the efficiencies
measured from terrestrial solar cells is due mainly to two factors.
 The first is that the theoretical maximum efficiency predictions assume that
energy from each photon is optimally used, that there are no unabsorbed photons
and that each photon is absorbed in a material which has a band gap equal to the
photon energy.
 This is achieved in theory by modeling an infinite stack of solar cells of different
band gap materials, each absorbing only the photons which correspond exactly to
its band gap.
 The second factor is that the high theoretical efficiency predictions assume a high
concentration ratio.
 Assuming that temperature and resistive effects do not dominate in a concentrator
solar cell, increasing the light intensity proportionally increases the short-circuit
current.
 Since the open-circuit voltage (Voc) also depends on the short-circuit current, Voc
increases logarithmically with light level.
 Principles
 Furthermore, since the maximum fill factor (FF) increases with Voc, the maximum
possible FF also increases with concentration. The extra Voc and FF increases with
concentration which allows concentrators to achieve higher efficiencies.
 In designing such single junction solar cells, the principles for maximising cell
efficiency are:
 Optical Losses
 Optical losses chiefly effect the power from a solar cell by lowering the short-
circuit current.
 Optical losses consist of light which could have generated an electron-hole pair,
but does not, because the light is reflected from the front surface, or because it is
not absorbed in the solar cell.
 For the most common semiconductor solar cells, the entire visible spectrum has
enough energy to create electron-hole pairs and therefore all visible light would
ideally be absorbed.
 Optical Losses
 There are a number of ways to reduce the optical losses:
 Anti-Reflection Coatings
 Anti-reflection coatings on solar cells are similar to those used on other optical
equipment such as camera lenses.
 They consist of a thin layer of dielectric material, with a specially chosen
thickness so that interference effects in the coating cause the wave reflected from
the anti-reflection coating top surface to be out of phase with the wave reflected
from the semiconductor surfaces.
 These out-of-phase reflected waves destructively interfere with one another,
resulting in zero net reflected energy.
 In addition to anti-reflection coatings, interference effects are also commonly
encountered when a thin layer of oil on water produces rainbow-like bands of
colour.
 The thickness of the anti-reflection coating is chosen so that the wavelength in the
dielectric material is one quarter the wavelength of the incoming wave.
 For a quarter wavelength anti-reflection coating of a transparent material with a
refractive index n1 and light incident on the coating with a free-space wavelength
λ0, the thickness d1 which causes minimum reflection is calculated by:
 Reflection is further minimised if the refractive index of the anti-reflection

coating is the geometric mean of that of the materials on either side; that is, glass
or air and the semiconductor. This is expressed by:
 While the reflection for a given thickness, index of refraction, and wavelength
can be reduced to zero using the equations above, the index of refraction is
dependent on wavelength and so zero reflection occurs only at a single
wavelength.
 For photovoltaic applications, the refractive index, and thickness are chosen in
order to minimise reflection for a wavelength of 0.6 µm. This wavelength is
chosen since it is close to the peak power of the solar spectrum.
 By adding more than one anti-reflection layer, the reflectivity can be reduced over
a wide range of wavelengths. However, this is usually too expensive for most
commercial solar cells. The equations for multiple antireflection coatings are
more complicated than that for a single layer.
 By adjusting the refractive index and thickness of the two layers it is possible to
produce two minima and a overall reflectance of less than 3%.
 The most common method to precisely measure the thickness of anti-reflection

coatings is using ellipsometry which looks at the way polarised light is reflected.
 A simple method to measure anti-reflection coating is by simply looking at the
film colour
 Surface Texturing
 Surface texturing, either in combination with an anti-reflection coating or by itself,
can also be used to minimise reflection.
 Any "roughening" of the surface reduces reflection by increasing the chances of
reflected light bouncing back onto the surface, rather than out to the surrounding
air.
 The crystalline structure of silicon results in a surface made up of pyramids if the
surface is appropriately aligned with respect to the internal atoms.
 This type of texturing is called "random pyramid" texture[2], and is commonly
used in industry for single crystalline wafers.
 Another type of surface texturing used is known as "inverted pyramid" texturing.
Using this texturing scheme, the pyramids are etched down into the silicon
surface rather than etched pointing upwards from the surface.
 Light Trapping
 The optimum device thickness is not controlled solely by the need to absorb all
the light.
 For example, if the light is not absorbed within a diffusion length of the junction,
then the light-generated carriers are lost to recombination.
 Consequently, an optimum solar cell structure will typically have "light trapping"
in which the optical path length is several times the actual device thickness,
where the optical path length of a device refers to the distance that an unabsorbed
photon may travel within the device before it escapes out of the device.
 This is usually defined in terms of device thickness. For example, a solar cell with
no light trapping features may have an optical path length of one device thickness,
while a solar cell with good light trapping may have an optical path length of 50,
indicating that light bounces back and forth within the cell many times.
 Light trapping is usually achieved by changing the angle at which light travels in
the solar cell by having it be incident on an angled surface. A textured surface will
not only reduce reflection as previously described but will also couple light
obliquely into the silicon, thus giving a longer optical path length than the
physical device thickness.
 Light Trapping
 In a textured single crystalline solar cell, the presence of crystallographic planes
make the angle θ1 equal to 36° as shown below.
 Light Trapping
 Using total internal reflection, light can be trapped inside the cell and make
multiple passes through the cell, thus allowing even a thin solar cell to maintain a
high optical path length.
 Lambertian Rear Reflectors
 Using total internal reflection, light can be trapped inside the cell and make
multiple passes through the cell, thus allowing even a thin solar cell to maintain a
high optical path length.
 High reflection off the rear cell surface reduces absorption in the rear cell contacts
or transmission from the rear, allowing the light to bounce back into the cell for
possible absorption.
 Recombination Losses
 Recombination losses effect both the current collection (and therefore the short-
circuit current) as well as the forward bias injection current (and therefore the
open-circuit voltage).
 Recombination is frequently classified according to the region of the cell in which
it occurs.
 Typically, recombination at the surface (surface recombination) or in the bulk of
the solar cell (bulk recombination) are the main areas of recombination. The
depletion region is another area in which recombination can occur (depletion
region recombination).
 Current Losses Due to Recombination
 In order for the p-n junction to be able to collect all of the light-generated carriers,
both surface and bulk recombination must be minimised.
 In silicon solar cells, the two conditions commonly required for such current
collection are:
1. the carrier must be generated within a diffusion length of the junction, so that
it will be able to diffuse to the junction before recombining; and
2. in the case of a localised high recombination site (such as at an unpassivated
surface or at a grain boundary in multicrystalline devices), the carrier must
be generated closer to the junction than to the recombination site. For less
severe localised recombination sites, (such as a passivated surface), carriers
can be generated closer to the recombination site while still being able to
diffuse to the junction and be collected without recombining.
 The presence of localised recombination sites at both the front and the rear
surfaces of a silicon solar cell means that photons of different energy will have
different collection probabilities.
 Current Losses Due to Recombination
 Since blue light has a high absorption coefficient and is absorbed very close to the
front surface, it is not likely to generate minority carriers that can be collected by
the junction if the front surface is a site of high recombination.
 Similarly, a high rear surface recombination will primarily affect carriers
generated by infrared light, which can generate carriers deep in the device.
 The quantum efficiency of a solar cell quantifies the effect of recombination on
the light generation current. The quantum efficiency of a silicon solar cell is
shown below.
 Voltage Losses Due to Recombination
 The open-circuit voltage is the voltage at which the forward bias diffusion current
is exactly equal to the short circuit current.
 The forward bias diffusion current is dependent on the amount recombination in a
p-n junction and increasing the recombination increases the forward bias current.
 Consequently, high recombination increases the forward bias diffusion current,
which in turn reduces the open-circuit voltage.
 The material parameter which gives the recombination in forward bias is the
diode saturation current.
 The recombination is controlled by the number of minority carriers at the junction
edge, how fast they move away from the junction and how quickly they
recombine.
 Consequently, the dark forward bias current, an hence the open-circuit voltage is
affected by the following parameters:
1. the number of minority carriers at the junction edge. The number of minority
carriers injected from the other side is simply the number of minority carriers in
equilibrium multiplied by an exponential factor which depends on the voltage and
the temperature. Therefore, minimising the equilibrium minority carrier
concentration reduces recombination. Minimising the equilibrium carrier
concentration is achieved by increasing the doping;
2. the diffusion length in the material. A low diffusion length means that minority
carriers disappear from the junction edge quickly due to recombination, thus
allowing more carriers to cross and increasing the forward bias current.
Consequently, to minimise recombination and achieve a high voltage, a high
diffusion length is required. The diffusion length depends on the types of
material, the processing history of the wafer and the doping in the wafer. High
doping reduces the diffusion length, thus introducing a trade-off between
maintaining a high diffusion length (which affects both the current and voltage)
and achieving a high voltage;
3. the presence of localised recombination sources within a diffusion length of the
junction. A high recombination source close the the junction (usually a surface or
a grain boundary) will allow carriers to move to this recombination source very
quickly and recombine, thus dramatically increasing the recombination current.
The impact of surface recombination is reduced by passivating the surfaces.
 Surface recombination can have a major impact both on the short-circuit current
and on the open-circuit voltage.
 High recombination rates at the top surface have a particularly detrimental impact
on the short-circuit current since top surface also corresponds to the highest
generation region of carriers in the solar cell.
 Lowering the high top surface recombination is typically accomplished by
reducing the number of dangling silicon bonds at the top surface by using
"passivating" layer on the top surface.
 The majority of the electronics industry relies on the use of a thermally grown
silicon dioxide layer to passivate the surface due to the low defect states at the
interface.
 Since the passivating layer for silicon solar cells is usually an insulator, any
region which has an ohmic metal contact cannot be passivated using silicon
dioxide.
 Instead, under the top contacts the effect of the surface recombination can be
minimised by increasing the doping.
 While typically such a high doping severely degrades the diffusion length, the
contact regions do not participate in carrier generation and hence the impact on
carrier collection is unimportant.
 Back Surface Field
 A similar effect is employed at the rear surface to minimise the impact of rear
surface recombination velocity on voltage and current if the rear surface is closer
than a diffusion length to the junction.
 A "back surface field" (BSF) consists of a higher doped region at the rear surface
of the solar cell.
 The interface between the high and low doped region behaves like a p-n junction
and an electric field forms at the interface which introduces a barrier to minority
carrier flow to the rear surface.
 The minority carrier concentration is thus maintained at higher levels in the bulk
of the device and the BSF has a net effect of passivating the rear surface.
Top Contact Design
 In addition to maximising absorption and minimising recombination, the final
condition necessary to design a high efficiency solar cell is to minimise parasitic
resistive losses.
 Both shunt and series resistance losses decrease the fill factor and efficiency of a
solar cell.
 A detrimentally low shunt resistance is a processing defect rather than a design
parameter. However, the series resistance, controlled by the top contact design
and emitter resistance, needs to be carefully designed for each type and size of
solar cell structure in order to optimise solar cell efficiency.
Top Contact Design
 The metallic top contacts are necessary to collect the current generated by a solar
cell.
 "Busbars" are connected directly to the external leads, while "fingers" are finer
areas of metalization which collect current for delivery to the busbars.
 The key design trade-off in top contact design is the balance between the
increased resistive losses associated with a widely spaced grid and the increased
reflection caused by a high fraction of metal coverage of the top surface.
Solar Cell Structure
 Silicon Solar Cell Parameters
 For silicon solar cells, the basic design constraints on surface reflection, carrier
collection, recombination and parasitic resistances result in an optimum device of
about 25% theoretical efficiency.
 Basic Cell Design
 Substrate Material
 In particular, silicon's band gap is slightly too low for an optimum solar cell and
since silicon is an indirect material, it has a low absorption co-efficient.
 While the low absorption co-efficient can be overcome by light trapping, silicon
is also difficult to grow into thin sheets.
 However, silicon's abundance, and its domination of the semiconductor
manufacturing industry has made it difficult for other materials to compete.
 Cell Thickness (100-500 µm)

 An optimum silicon solar cell with light trapping and very good surface
passivation is about 100 µm thick. However, thickness between 200 and 500µm
are typically used, partly for practical issues such as making and handling thin
wafers, and partly for surface passivation reasons.
 Doping of Base (1 Ω·cm)
 A higher base doping leads to a higher Voc and lower resistance, but higher levels
of doping result in damage to the crystal
 Reflection Control (front surface typically textured)

 The front surface is textured to increase the amount of light coupled into the cell.
 Emitter Dopant (n-type)

 N-type silicon has a higher surface quality than p-type silicon so it is placed at the
front of the cell where most of the light is absorbed. Thus the top of the cell is the
negative terminal and the rear of the cell is the positive terminal.
 Emitter Thickness (<1 μm)
 A large fraction of light is absorbed close to the front surface. By making the front
layer very thin, a large fraction of the carriers generated by the incoming light are
created within a diffusion length of the p-n junction.
 Doping Level of Emitter (100 Ω/☐)

 The front junction is doped to a level sufficient to conduct away the generated
electricity without resistive loses. However, excessive levels of doping reduces
the material's quality to the extent that carriers recombine before reaching the
junction.
 Grid Pattern (fingers 20 to 200 µm width, placed 1 - 5 mm apart)

 The resistivity of silicon is too low to conduct away all the current generated, so a
lower resistivity metal grid is placed on the surface to conduct away the current.
The metal grid shades the cell from the incoming light so there is a compromise
between light collection and resistance of the metal grid.
 Rear Contact
 The rear contact is much less important than the front contact since it is much
further away from the junction and does not need to be transparent. The design of
the rear contact is becoming increasingly important as overall efficiency increases
and the cells become thinner.
 Efficiency and Solar Cell Cost
 Under laboratory conditions and with current state-of-the-art technology, it is
possible to produce single crystal silicon solar cells close to 25% efficient.
 However, commercially mass produced cells are typically only 13-14% efficient.
 The overriding reason for this difference in efficiency is that the research
techniques used in the laboratory are not suitable for commercial production
within the photovoltaic industry and therefore lower cost techniques, which result
in lower efficiency, are used. However, it is estimated module efficiencies over
20% could be produced commercially.

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Energy Conversion and Storage

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Types of Energy

 Potential & Kinetic Energy

 Photon Energy (E)

 Photon Energy (E) : The energy carried

UV light is distinguished into several

-Fossil fuels dominate energy supplies.

Is nuclear energy Renewable?

Solar: Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from

Hydrogen: Hydrogen also can be found in many organic compounds, as

Ocean tide power: For those tidal differences to be harnessed into

Hydropower: Flowing water creates energy that can be captured and

Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on a tower to capture the

 Radiant Power Density

 The simplest is to use SI units so that c is in m/s, h is in joule·seconds, T

 The total power density (W/m2)from a blackbody is determined by

where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant and T is the temperature of the

 Solar Radiation in Space

 Solar Radiation Outside the Earth’s Atmosphere

Geometrical constants for

Typical clear sky absorption and scattering of

The air mass represents the proportion of atmosphere

 The efficiency of a solar cell is sensitive to variations in both the power

 The intensity of AM1.5D radiation can be approximated by reducing the

 Intensity Calculation based on The Air Mass

where ID is the intensity on a plane perpendicular to the sun's rays in units of

 Measurement of Solar Radiation

 Measurement of Solar Radiation

 Average Solar Radiation

Solar power and solar cell availability

Prof. Gratzel’s Presentation (SISF 2013)

Shading of a Single Cell

The light intensity on a solar cell is

Power conversion efficiency (PCE)

HS Jung et al EES (2014)

E  h h  planck's contant(6.62610-34 J sec)

 BASIC RESEARCH CHALLENGES FOR SOLAR ELECTRICITY

World PV cell/module production (in MWp)

© 2013 NPD Solarbuzz. All rights reserved.

Maximum theoretical efficiency of a solar

Single-crystalline Si PV cells, with an efficiency of 10% and a cost of $350/m2, thus

Q2’12 Q3’12 Q4’12 Q1’13 Q2’13 Q3’13 Q4’13 Q1’14 Q2’14

© 2013 NPD Solarbuzz. All rights reserved.

© 2013 NPD Solarbuzz. All rights reserved.

High efficiency but expensive

• Polycrystalline Si, 20.3%

III $1.00/W II. 2nd generation

• Amorphous Si, 11.7%

I $3.50/W • CdTe, 16.5%

 High-efficiency, low-cost thin-film solar cells through multiscale architecture

 In US, LCOE is expected to be 0.11$/kWh in 2020

 To Achieve LCOE 0.11$/kWh

 Si Module prices in Europe, Japan and US

 Si module price in China

 Need for Revolution on Existing Technology Path

Need for Revolution

Methylammonium lead triiodide has a

 Large absorption coefficient: more than 10

N. G. Park J. Phys. Chem, Lett. (2013)

n-i-p device configuration

Perovskite solar cells

 Equilibrium Carrier Concentration

 Equilibrium Carrier Concentration