Solar Electricity

Sustainable Energy Science and Engineering Center
Solar Electricity
Solar-thermally generated electricity: Lowest cost solar electric source.
Complex collectors to gather solar radiation to produce temperatures high
enough to drive steam turbines to produce electric power.
For example, a turbine fed from parabolic trough collectors might take steam
at 750 K and eject heat into atmosphere at 300 K will have a ideal thermal
(Carnot) efficiency of about 60%. Realistic overall conversion (system)
efficiency of about 35% is feasible.
Photovoltaic energy:
The direct conversion of sun light to electricity.
The efficiency (the ratio of the maximum power output and the incident
radiation flux) of the best single-junction silicon solar cells has now reached
24% in laboratory test conditions. The best silicon commercially available PV
modules have an efficiency of over 19%.
Power Requirements
• Lighting and electrical appliances

• Refrigeration and air-conditioning
(includes space heating)
• Hot water
Approaches
Direct conversion of solar radiation into electricity -

photovoltaics and dye sensitized and organic solar
cells
Concentrating solar power - produce high grade heat
for the production of electricity and use in other
processes
Energy storage using hydrogen as energy carrier.
Semiconductors
1. Materials, both compounds and elements, can be classified according to how well they
conduct electricity. There are materials such as metals which conduct electricity well
and those which conduct electricity poorly, called insulators. There are a few materials
which fall in between. They conduct electricity a little bit. These materials are called
semiconductors.
2. With the development of quantum theory and the band theory description of the
(electrical) properties of elements, it became possible to understand what differentiated
conductors, insulators and semiconductors in a comprehensive and testable theory.
3. The Pauli Exclusion Principle applied to electrons bound to an atom defines a series of
distinct energy shells which electrons can fill. These shells are filled from the lowest
energy level upwards. The Periodic Table arises with each element adding a proton and
the filling of each shell taking one 'period' of the table.
4. The semiconducting elements form a loose band on the table; not quite metals and not
quite insulators. Compounds formed from various crystalline and amorphous mixtures
are also semiconducting.
5. On top of which, the electrical characteristics of semiconductors can be changed by
introducing traces of other elements in minute proportions. This is called doping and
is how n-type and p-type semiconductors are constructed.
6. By applying voltages and bias currents, semiconductors can function as switches
forming the basis of transistors and by applying light radiation, semiconductors can
function as photovoltaic devices.
Solar Cells- Energy bands

In crystals, each original discrete atomic energy level spreads out into bands of closely spaced levels.
These bands are separated by energy gaps that are forbidden to the electrons. This band structure is
important in determining the properties of electrons in crystals. The band structure of a material has
profound effect on its physical properties such as electrical conductivity and its optical properties. A solid is
classified as an insulator or a semiconductor based on largely according to how good conductor it is.
The energies of the electrons are restricted to energetically separated ‘energy
bands” : the lower lying so-called valance band and energetically higher lying
conduction band. The two bands are energetically separated by a band gap.
Under the condition of thermal equilibrium the valance band of a pure
semiconductor is practically fully occupied by immobile electrons sitting
between neighboring semiconductor atoms and the conduction band is empty.
Under these conditions no electrons can move about freely in the solid and the
semiconductor behaves like an insulator.
When a photon is absorbed in the semiconductor, thereby transferring energy
to a bound immobile electron in the valance band which is then excited across
the band gap into the conduction band, where it is free to move about the solid.
The photon must carry more energy than required to transfer the electron
across the gap. The electron that has been excited to the conduction band
leaves a place in the valance band that is now not occupied by an electron.
Such an empty energy state of a negatively charged electron behaves like a
positively charged particle- a so-called hole. These charge carrying holes are
also comparatively free to move about the semiconductor solid.
Electron-Hole pair
There is an attractive force between the negatively charged electron in the conduction band and the
positively charged hole in the valance band resulting in a locally confined electron-hole pair. The
attractive force creating this pair has to be overcome and the electron-hole pair split spatially in order
to produce a useful electric current. If left alone, the excited electron will eventually recombine either
with the original hole of the electron-hole pair or any other hole within reach to produce a photon or
waste heat. It is therefore essential (in a solar cell application) to separate the charges in the
photogenerated electron hole-pairs as soon as possible and to collect the charge at the external
electrodes before they combine.
Recombination process between electrons and holes occur with high probability
at distributed crystal sites. Surfaces represent areas of crystal imperfections and
they can be avoided by depositing suitable coatings on the surface.
To manipulate electrical conductivity of a semiconductor is done by introducing
well-controlled small amounts of dopant atoms. For example, the electrical
conductivity in silicon can be significantly increased by replacing every one-
millionth silicon atom by a phosphorus or a boron atom. The phosphorus atom
has one electron more than the silicon atom. This leads to the fact that we have
more freely mobile electrons than holes in the semiconductor, which is then
said to be n-doped.
In contrast, the boron atom has one less electron than the silicon atom. The
boron atom easily binds an electron from the valance band and produces a hole
there, leading to p-type conduction. This p- and n-type conduction forms the
basis of all semiconductors.
Band Gaps
The band gap of a semiconductor, measured in electron volts [eV], is the difference between
the valence band and the conduction band potentials. Each type of semiconductor has a unique
band gap, most of which fall in the range 1.0 to 2.6 eV.
Semiconductor Band Gap [eV]

Silicon 1.1
Gallium Arsenide 1.34
Copper Indium Delenide 1.0
Germanium 0.72
Indium antimonide 0.18
Cadium Sulfide 2.45
Zinc Oxide 3.3
The point to note here is that a photovoltaic material can only capture those photons which
have an energy greater than or equal to the band gap of that material. Silicon, for example, will
be transparent to photons with an energy of less than 1.1 eV. It might seem therefore, that the
thing to do is use a very low band gap material, but the strength of the electric field created by
the conjunction of n-type and p-type material is also dependent upon the band gap. One has to
make a tradeoff between photon energy and field strength.
Semiconductor Junction
Consider two pieces of a given semiconductor, one doped with donor atoms and the other
with acceptor atoms. Suppose that each piece has a plane face and imagine bringing them
together at their plane faces. This forms a pn-junction. In practice the junction is
manufactured from a single piece of host crystal by varying the doping in different parts of
it as the crystal is grown. This produces a transition region between the p-part and n-part
that is typically about 1 μm in width.
p-type material - excess holes in the valance band compared with n-type material
n-type material - excess electrons in the conduction band compared with the p-type
material
After the contact is made, it is energetically
favorable for some of the excess electrons in the
conduction band of the n-type material to cross
to the p-type material and annihilate some of the
holes there. Consequently, a net negative
charge is built up in the p-type material and a
net positive charge in the n-type material. Thus
an electrostatic potential is set up, and this
eventually stop the flow of further electrons
across the junction.
pn -Junction
P-type n-type
In trying to neutralize charges

+ + + +
holes electrons
Free electrons in n-type diffuse across
+ + + + junction to p-type and free holes in p-
type diffuse to n-type; electrons and
doped ion cores doped ion cores
holes close to junction recombine.
depletion region
A depletion region (free of mobile charge
+ +
carriers) develops on either side of the
+ +
junction with fixed -ve ions on p-side and
+ + fixed +ve ions on the n-side. These
+ +
residue charges prevent further diffusion
Charge so that recombination between holes and
density electrons is inhibited.
+ve
A potential difference develops across
-ve distance through
crystal
the junction with equilibrium potential, φo
and depletion region has high resistivity
Potential due immobile charge carriers
Equilibrium Now some extra energy is required for
potential, φo
the charges to move across the barrier.
distance through
crystal
Pn-junction
Suppose that heat is applied to the junction, so that
φ is the electrostatic potential extra electron-hole pairs are created by thermal
excitation, the electric field drives the electrons
towards the n-type material and the holes towards the
p-type material. So if the two sides of the crystal are
joined to an external circuit, the effect of the heat is
to drive a current through the crystal from n-type side
to the p-type side, and round the circuit.
A current is also generated if light is shone on the
junction, so that the absorbed photons create
electron-hole pairs. This is the photovoltaic effect - the
basis of solar cell.
If current is driven through the junction by an external
source, like a battery, electrons and holes recombine
in the junction region producing photons - the light
emitting diode.
If two faces of the crystal, perpendicular to the
junction plane, are polished flat and made parallel to
each other, the device operates as a semiconductor
laser.
Pn Junction
The p-n junction: The photoconversion device that has attained the highest
efficiency is the p-n junction.
Ir : Recombination current for electrons

Ig : Thermally generated current
[−(ε ( )−ε )]
g p f
Ig ∝ n p ≈ A1e kT
[−(ε ( )−ε )]
g n f
n n ≈ A1e kT
Where np and nn are the number of

thermally excited electrons in the p-type
and n-type region correspondingly, εf is
the Fermi energy (the energy at which
the probability of a state being filled is
exactly one-half and also corresponds to
the thermodynamic free electron energy,
k is Boltzmann’s constant (=1.38048x10-
23 joule/oK) and T is temperature.
Diode Current
+ +
Ir If
p n p n
Reverse biased Forward biased

Pn-Junction Diode
The solar cell is the basic building block of solar photovoltaics. The cell can be
considered as a two terminal device which conducts like a diode in the dark and
generates a photovoltage when charged by the sun.
When the junction is illuminated, a net

current flow takes place in an external The light generated current is superimposed
lead connecting the p-type and n-type upon the normal rectifying current-voltage
regions. characteristics of the diode. The power can
be extracted from the device in a region
shown in the fourth quadrant.
Solar cell
The simplified equivalent circuit of an illuminated p-n junction
Application of Kirchhoff’s law:
The illuminated light causes a current I to flow in the load.
I = Is − I j
⎧ eV ⎫
I = Is − Io ⎨e kT −1⎬
⎩ ⎭
Where Ij is the total current due to electron and hole flow
across the junction, Io is the dark current and V is the
voltage across the junction. Using current densities instead
of currents, we have
J = Js − J j
⎧ eV ⎫
J = J s − J o ⎨e kT −1⎬
⎩ ⎭
Where J is the current density that flows through the load.
Solar cell
The maximum voltage that we could measure on the cell would occur under open
circuit conditions, J = 0, which is
kT ⎛ J ⎞
Voc = ln⎜ + 1⎟
e ⎝ Jo ⎠
The power output of the device
⎛ ⎧ eV ⎫⎞
P = JV = ⎜⎜ J s − J o ⎨e kT −1⎬⎟⎟V
⎝ ⎩ ⎭⎠
The voltage that produce maximum power density, we take the derivative of the above
expression with respect V and setting it to zero will yield
eVmp ⎛ eVmp ⎞ eVmp

⎜1+ ⎟
kT ⎝ kT ⎠ J
e = 1+ = e kT
Jo
Solar cell
Substituting the expression for J in the previous equation, we will
obtain the following
eVmp
Js ⎡ J ⎤
= kT
J mp ⎢1+ o ⎥
Js ⎦
1+ mp ⎣
eV
kT
The maximum power density is simply Pmax=JmpVmp
The power density input to the junction is Nphεav
Where Nph is the total number of photons in the solar spectrum and
εav is the average energy of each of the photons. The dark current
density Jo is generally five or more orders of magnitude smaller than
the short circuit current density Js . We may then approximate the
maximum efficiency of the converter as
eVmp
Vmp J s
ηmax ≈ kT
⎛ eVmp ⎞
⎜1+ ⎟N phεav
⎝ kT ⎠
Solar Cell Performance

Typical voltage-current plot
Solar Cell Performance Losses

Conversion efficiency:
It is defined as the ratio of the electrical power produced to the incident solar
power (typically at 1 kW/m2). The figure illustrates the many physical and
technological loss mechanisms that result in a low conversion efficiency.
70%
The reflection losses at the top surface of the cell can be eliminated by
putting antireflection coating composed of a thin optically transparent
dielectric layer on the top surface of the cell.
There is a minimum energy level (and thus the maximum wavelength) of

photons that can cause the creation of a hole-electron pair. For silicon, the
maximum wavelength is 1.15μm. Radiation at higher wavelengths does not
produce hole-electron pairs but heats the cell.
Each photon causes the creation of a single-ole pair, and the energy of
photons in excess of that required to create hole-electron pairs is also
converted into heat.

The open circuit voltage is physically limited to values less than the
bandgap voltage.
Since I-V curve is not perfectly rectangular, only 80% of the

maximum power is achieved.
Recombination losses due to photogenerated carriers not reaching the

electrical contacts gives raise to a loss.
The electrical series resistance in the cell itself, its contacts and in the
external circuitry lead, contributes to the loss.
Efficiency
The cell power density is given by
P = JV
P reaches maximum at the cell’s operating point or maximum power
point (MPP).
The fill factor is defined as

J mVm
FF =
J scVoc
Efficiency
The efficiency η of the cell is the power density delivered at the
operating point as a fraction of the incident light power density, Ps,
J mVm J ocVoc FF
η= =
Ps Ps
Power Conversion Efficiency Limits

PV Module
The solar cell is the basic building block of solar photovoltaics. When charged by the
sun, this basic unit generates a dc photovoltage of 0.5 to 1.0V and, in short circuit, a
photocurrent of some tens of mA/cm2. Since the voltage is too small for most
applications, to produce a useful voltage, the cells are connected in series into
modules, typically containing about 28 to 36 cells in series to generate a dc output of
12 V. To avoid the complete loss of power when one of the cells in the series fails, a
blocking diode is integrated into the module. Modules within arrays are similarly
protected to form a photovoltaic generator that is designed to generate power at a
certain current and a voltage which is a multiple of 12 V.
Parasitic Resistances
Real cells: Resistance of the contacts and leakage currents around the sides
of the device
Series resistance: it arises from the resistance of the cell material to current
flow, particularly through the front surface to the contacts and from resistive
contacts. It is a particular problem at high current densities, i.e. under
concentrated light.
Shunt resistance: It arises from the leakage of the current through the cell
around the edges of the device and between contacts of different polarity. It
is a problem with poorly rectifying devices.
The diode equation becomes
⎛ q ⎛⎜ V +JAR s ⎞⎟ ⎞ V + JAR
J = J sc − J 0 ⎜⎜e ⎝ kT ⎠ −1⎟⎟ − s
⎝ ⎠ Rsh
Where A is the cell area

Parasitic Resistances
The effect of resistances is to reduce the

area of the maximum power rectangle
compared to Jsc x Voc.
Solar Cells and Photovoltaics
Consider a two band system: the ground state is initially full and the excited state empty
Band gap, Eg : The bands are separated by a band gap.
Photons with energy E < Eg can not promote an electron to the excited state. Photons
with E ≥ Eg can raise the electron but any excess energy is quickly lost as heat as the
carriers relax to the band edges.
Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Solar Irradiance
Solar irradiance: The amount of radiant energy received from the Sun per unit
area per unit time. It is a function of wavelength at a point outside the Earth’s
atmosphere. Solar irradiance is greatest at wavelengths, 300-800 nm.
The extraterrestrial spectrum resembles the spectrum of a black body radiation at

5760 K. The black body emits photons with a distribution of energies determined
by it’s surface temperature.
Solar Radiation Spectrum
The global spectrum

comprises the direct
plus the diffused light.
AM 1.5d Spectrum Energy Distribution
Silicon solar cells with a bandgap of 1.13ev can maximally absorb 77% of the terrestrial solar energy.
Solar Spectrum

Efficiency Limitations

Multi-gap Devices

PV Efficiency

1st Generation PV
Made from single or poly crystalline silicon
Mature technology
Typical efficiency: 10-15%
Life time: >20 years
40% of the cost is due to Si cost
Improved designs:
Buried contacts
Better Si-feedstock (float Zone Si)
Cheaper Si-feedstock (ribbon Si)
Efficiency >20%
Life time >25 years

2nd Generation PV
Thin Film Technology: Thin films of active material is deposited
onto a supporting substrate.
Flexible substrate
Small amount of material
Low deposition rates
Lower efficiencies
Amorphous Silicon: a-Si:H; Microcrystalline Silicon: μc-SiH

Copper indium gallium diselenide : CIGS
Cadmium telluride: CdTe
PV Markets

Photo Electro Chemical Solar cell
Low cost Materials

Cell efficiency: 10% (modules: 5%)
Well suited for building integration
Long term stability not yet proven

Organic/Polymer Solar Cell
Relatively low efficiencies realized- 5%

Facile product integration
Potential for very low cost production
Potential for realization of advanced
light harvesting techniques
Longevity is yet proven

Solar Cell - Definitions

Open circuit voltage Voc: When light hits a solar cell, it develops a voltage,
analogous to the e.m.f. of a battery in a circuit. The voltage developed when
the terminals are isolated (infinite load resistance) is called the open circuit
voltage.
Short circuit current Isc: The current drawn when the terminals are connected
together is the short circuit current.
For any intermediate load resistance RL the cell develops a voltage V between 0
and Voc and delivers a current I such that V = IRL, and I(V) is determined by the
Current-voltage characteristic of the cell under that illumination.
Both I and V are determined by the illumination as well as the load.
The current is approximately proportional to the illumination area, the short
circuit current density, Jsc is a useful quantity for comparison.

Solar Electricity

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Sustainable Energy Science and Engineering Center

• Lighting and electrical appliances

Direct conversion of solar radiation into electricity -

Solar Cells- Energy bands

Semiconductor Band Gap [eV]

In trying to neutralize charges

Ir : Recombination current for electrons

Where np and nn are the number of

Reverse biased Forward biased

When the junction is illuminated, a net

eVmp ⎛ eVmp ⎞ eVmp

Solar Cell Performance

Solar Cell Performance Losses

Solar Cell Performance Losses

There is a minimum energy level (and thus the maximum wavelength) of

Solar Cell Performance Losses

Since I-V curve is not perfectly rectangular, only 80% of the

Recombination losses due to photogenerated carriers not reaching the

The fill factor is defined as

Power Conversion Efficiency Limits

Where A is the cell area

The effect of resistances is to reduce the

Solar Cells and Photovoltaics

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

The extraterrestrial spectrum resembles the spectrum of a black body radiation at

Solar Radiation Spectrum

The global spectrum

AM 1.5d Spectrum Energy Distribution

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Amorphous Silicon: a-Si:H; Microcrystalline Silicon: μc-SiH

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Photo Electro Chemical Solar cell

Low cost Materials

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Organic/Polymer Solar Cell

Relatively low efficiencies realized- 5%

Source: Keld West, Riso National Laboratory, Denmark

Solar Cell - Definitions

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