Solar Cell Efficiency Calculation

Question: How efficient is a solar cell?

In class you will learn that the highest efficiency a single-crystalline silicon solar cell
can attain is about 30%. In this lab we will actually be using multicrystalline silicon
solar cells. Due to the existence of grain boundaries and other microscopic
imperfections in how atoms of these solar cells are arranged, multicrystalline cells
have lower maximum efficiencies still-- about 15 to 20%. Of course, as engineers we
know there is often a disparity between what physics predict and what real life
actually gives us It is our goal today to determine how efficient a solar cell is in
real life, and to get you thinking about how a solar cells function might be improved
so that we can squeeze as much efficiency from it as we can.
On a more practical level you will be familiarizing yourselves with solar cells,
sunlight, and some of the measurements engineers make to determine, How well is
this solar cell working? It is up to engineers like us to design and improve solar
cells so that they function the best they possibly can.
Theory: The efficiency of a solar cell is simply the ratio of the power the cell
produces to the power the cell receives from a light sourcee.g. the sun.

Power that solar cell produces P

= = out
Power that solar cell recieves by sun P

By using a photon flux meter, we can measure the spectral irradiance f() of light
shining on a solar cell and plot it. From this data we should be able to calculate P in,
the total energy bombarding the solar cell surface every second.
Next by measuring the I-V curve of a solar cell and plotting it, we can determine
maximum power that the cell can output, Pout.
To calculate Pout, recall that P = (current) x (voltage). Thus we need an equation that
models current as a function of voltage: I = I(V). Power is then

P=I (V )V

We can use this equation to find the maximum power that a solar cell can produce.

Procedure:
Materials: 3x3 inch silicon solar cell, light source, photon flux meter (sensor size:
9.5mm diam.), voltmeter, ammeter, resistances: 0~1 M, wires.
Procedure:

1. Gather all materials.

2. Arrange the solar cell straightly facing the light source, let the light beam be
incident perpendicular to the solar cell.

3. Use wires to short-circuit the solar cell and measure the short circuit current I SC
and corresponding voltage. This is the maximum current the solar cell can generate.

4. Connect a large resistor (1 M) to solar cell and measure the open circuit voltage
and corresponding current. This is the maximum voltage the cell can generate.

5. Connect the resistances varies from 0~10 to the circuit, and measure the
voltage and current under different resistances. Obtain about 15 20 data points.

6. Put the sensor of the photon flux meter parallel to the solar cell and at the same
distance to the light source.

7. Measure the photon flux density under different wavelength (200~900nm).

8. Clean up materials.

Questions:
1) Calculate the efficiency of the solar cell.
2) Current is comprised of charged particles that are able to move and flow in a
circuit. What are the charge carriers that contribute to current in a solar cell? How
are these charge carriers generated?
3) Efficiency in solar cells is important if they are to be cost competitive with fossil
fuels. What are some of the ways in which light can fail to generate charge carriers
in a solar cell?
4) A PN junction is key to how a solar cell is able to supply power to a circuit. Draw a
diagram of a PN junction (n-side, p-side, and depletion region). Where do free
electrons exist in abundance? Where do holes? Make a note of the typical
concentrations of these majority carriers in your diagram (assume room
temperature). What are the concentrations of minority carriers in these regions?
Finally, label the electron and hole concentrations that are found in the depletion
region.
5) Interestingly, your diagram likely depicts a solar cell that is sitting unused in the
dark. It is a principle of physics that all matter seeks to attain the lowest energy
state possiblei.e. a ground state. However in a semiconductor, electrons and holes
abide in high-energy states that are capable of conduction. Why do these charge
carriers exist even when a solar cell sits unused in the dark?
6) If we shine a light on a PV cell, even more charge carriers will be generated.
Label your PN junction diagram dark. Now draw a second PN junction that has
been exposed to light (e.g. a photon flux of 10^16/cm 2*s). Update the values of
majority and minority carriers present in each region.

In class we learned there are two forces which can act on charged particles in a
solar cell, thereby setting them in motion. These are the coulombic force (i.e. an
electric field acting on a charge) and diffusion. Both are important to how a solar
cell works.
Consider diffusion in a PN junction. The key driver of diffusion is a concentration
gradient. Picture a subway train at rush hour. The more crowded the train car
becomes, the more everyone tries to spread out and move to a spot that is less
congested. This is the principle behind diffusion, particles tend to move from
regions of high density to regions of low density. The greater the disparity between
regions, the greater the driving force for diffusion.
7) P-doped and n-doped material have high concentrations of majority carriers,
even in the dark. For the majority carriers in n-doped silicon, what is the
concentration gradient that exists when an n-doped region exists side by side with
the depletion region? (In other words, what is the difference in concentrations
between the two regions?) Once a majority carrier has diffused to the edge of the
depletion region, is there anything that might hinder further diffusion through the
depletion region to the p-doped side?
8) Now consider the diffusion of minority carriers (e.g. holes in n-doped silicon).
When a PV cell sits unused in the dark, what is the concentration gradient for holes
when n-doped silicon exists side by side with a depletion region? If we expose the
PV cell to sunlight (1016 photons/cm2*s), how does this concentration gradient
change? Is the driving force for diffusion stronger or weaker under illuminated
conditions?
9) Once a minority carrier has diffused to the edge of the depletion region what
forces does it feel? Lets continue assuming the minority carrier is a hole. Having
diffused to the edge of the depletion region, will the hole tend to stay where it is or
pass through the depletion region to the p-doped side? Are there any forces that will
help or oppose it?
10) We measured electrical current in this experiment. Draw a picture of the circuit
we built, connecting it to the diagram of the illuminated PN junction. Show both
types of charge carriers flowing within the circuit. Indicate the flow direction of each
charge carrier type. What forces are driving this current flow?
11) After a PV cell absorbs light, a second process--charge carrier separation--must
occur before the cell can deliver current to a circuit. The PN junction ensures that
charge carrier separation occurs, but it is worth asking: does this process occur
efficiently? What are some ways that charge carrier separation can fail, causing
absorbed solar energy to be wasted? Name some physical qualities that charge
carriers have which affect the likelihood that they will cross the depletion region and
contribute to current in a circuit?

In order for a PV cell to operate effectively the generated charge carriers

should flow through an external circuit. Sometimes this does not happen and
electrons and holes can recombine back without being used externally. This is
considered as wasted energy.
Electrons in conduction band are in meta-stable state and tend to stabilize by
jumping to a lower energy band (valence band) combining with a hole. This is called
recombination. The types of recombination are: radiative, Auger, and Shockley-
Read-Hall (traps).
Radiative recombination dominates in direct band semiconductors (GaAs).
Electrons fall back to a valence band recombining with hole. The corresponding
decrease in energy emits a photon with energy being the difference between the
initial and final states. The emitted photon usually has energy of about bandgap
level, thats way it is weakly absorbed on its way from the semiconductor and
shines light upon exiting. This is the principle of light emitting diodes. Since usually
Silicon is used for a solar cell which is indirect bandgap, the radiative recombination
is low.
Auger recombination involves three particles. When electron and hole
recombines the excess energy is used to raise another electron to upper level within
the conduction band. This electron then thermalizes back to its original state
releasing the absorbed energy. This type of recombination is important at high
doping levels, since higher doping limits lifetime.
Shockley-Read-Hall recombination is a two-step process. When defects are
present they introduce traps in forbidden energy states. Electrons then jump on
these traps from conduction band emitting a photon and further jump in a valence
band recombining with a hole and emitting one more photon. Also, they can
recombine at the trap level if hole jumps on the trap. The emitted photons are not
absorbed since they have low energies and tend to exit the crystal. For this type of
recombination mid gap defects are effective in terms of recombining (but not for
solar cell operation). Since electrons are less likely to return to their original state if
they already lost high amount of energy (half of the bandgap). The SRH type of
defect is dominant in Silicon based solar cells.
These all recombination types limit the efficiency of solar cells, since
electrons and holes are not used in an external circuit. By limiting the
recombination, we can increase efficiency of a solar cell.
 In addition, lifetime should be considered during design of solar a cell. This
tells the average time a carrier can spend in excited stated before recombining
back. The longer the lifetime the higher the probability of carriers being pushed
along external circuit.
Diffusion length is the average distance a carrier moves from generation to
recombination. The higher the length the more likely carriers will flow on an external
load.
Moreover, the recombination at surfaces is very high because surface defects
(particularly dangling bonds) are present. This is caused by interruption of the
crystal lattice at surfaces. This can be partly overcome by surface passivation when
a new layer is grown over the semiconductor surface.