INTRODUCTION-PROBLEM DEFINITION

Energy is defined as, Capacity of a physical system to perform work. It is a globally conserved quantity i.e., the total amount of energy in the universe is constant. Energy neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one from to another. e.g., a solar cell illustrates the conversion of light energy to electrical energy; a battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Energy, environment and economic development are closely related. The proper use of energy requires consideration of social impact as well as technological ones. Indeed, sustained economic growth of a country in this century along with improvements in the quality of everyones lives may be possible only be the well planned and efficient use of fossil fuel and other resources and the development of new renewable energy technologies. Thus, the energy which is used by the human beings on planet Earth can be classified as (i) renewable energy sources and (ii) nonrenewable energy sources.(1) i. Renewable energy sources: The energy which are derived from natural sources that replenish themselves over short period of time. Renew-able energy sources include hydropower (Tidal energy and wave power), geothermal energy, wind energy, solar energy, and bio-mass energy. These resources are also called nonconventional sources of energy. ii. Nonrenewable energy sources:These are the energy sources that are derived from finite and static stocks of energy. It cannot be produced, grown, generated or used on a scale that can sustain its consumption rate. Due to its exhaustibility in nature, these types of energy resources are sometimes also called conventional sources of

energy. Examples of these types of resources are fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear power. Since all the conversion sources of energy are limited and they cannot be reproduced. So, the limited supply of todays main energy sources (oil, coal, uranium) will force us sooner or later to replace most of the currently used power plants with renewable energy sources. According to recent predictions, the inevitable permanent decline in the global oil production rate is expected to start within the next 10-20 years.
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Worldwide oil prices will then rise considerably favoring the introduction of various renewable energy sources such as the direct conversion of solar energy (solar cells).

Figure 1.1: The atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases like CO2 has grown significantly since pre-industrial times. This can be largely attributed to human activities, mostly fossil-fuel use. Dashed lines are possible (optimistic) future scenarios.
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However, the combustion of fossil fuels in the past has already harmful effects on the delicate balance of nature on our planet Earth. Today,

about 20 x 1012 kg of carbon di-oxide are put into the atmosphere every year, mainly by burning fossil fuels. Todays plants are unable to absorb this huge amount of extra CO 2. As a result the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere continues to mount adding considerably to the greenhouse effect which will increase the global mean surface temperature depending on future emission scenarios and the actual climate sensitivity by the year 2100. Global mean surface temperature has increased by 0.3-0.6C since the late 19th century and the global sea level has risen by 10-25 cm, most likely due to human activities. The consequences of this temperature change have already increased the frequency and severity of natural disasters and are likely to have more devastating effects for humans and other life forms in all parts of earth within the next decades.(4) Fortunately, we have renewable energy sources which neither run out nor have any significant harmful effects on our environment. All renewable energy sources (apart from tidal and geothermal energy) are powered by a steady flux of energy from the sun. The total flux amounts to approximately 1.7 1017 W, which is more than 50 thousand times the rate at which energy is produced and consumed by mankind. The intensity of sunlight just outside the atmosphere is 1366 W/mt2 (the solar constant). On the way down the atmosphere, some of the radiation is reflected back into space and a part of the radiation is reflected back into the space and a part of energy is absorbed in clouds and the air mass. The absorbed energy drives the dynamics of the atmosphere from which energy can be tapped as wind or wave energy. The amount of solar irradiation that reaches the ground amounts to 160 W/mt2, averaged over time and the surface of the earth. This number is put into perspective by the following citations from an essay by Denis Hayes:

The sunlight that fall on the roads in the US last year contained roughly as much energy as in all the fossil fuel consumed last year in the world. No country uses as much energy as is contained in the sunlight that strikes its buildings. The quotations underlines that solar power is an abundant resource that has the potential for playing a major role in the worlds energy supply. As it is furthermore universally available (although to a varying extent), it may also play a key role in bringing electric power to areas where an electric grid has not yet been established.(5) Presently, even though commercial energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas are being utilizedto a large extent, renewable sources of energy are slowly gaining importance. Renewable energy plays a basic role in sustainable development. Such sources can supply the energy we need for indefinite periods of time polluting far less than fossil fuels. The advantages of renewables are well known, as far as they enhance diversity in energy supply markets; secure long-term sustainable energy supplies; reduce local and global atmospheric emissions; and create new employment opportunities, offering possibilities for local manufacturing. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy includes hydropower, biomass, and wind, solar, geothermal and marine energy. Figure 1.2 shows the world share of total primary energy consumption (TPES) from 1997. Figure 1.2 shows that renewable energy represented 13.4% of total world combustion in 1973 which increased up to 18.7% in 2008 as shown by Figure 1.3.

Hydro, 1.80% Nuclear, 0.90%

Combustible Geothermal,sol renewable & ar,wind, 0.10%waste, 10.60%

Gas, 16%

Coal/peat, 24.50% Oil, 46.10%

Figure 1.2:World shares of total primary energy supply (TPES) in 1973.

Nuclear, 5.80%

Hydro, 2.20% Combustible renewable & waste, 10% Geothermal,sol ar,wind, 0.70%

Gas, 21.10% Coal/peat, 27%

Oil, 33.20%

Figure 1.3:World shares of total primary energy supply (TPES) in 2008.

Solar Cell: It is expected that, renewable energy is one of the challenges to society in the 21st century. One of the renewable energy technologies is photovoltaic (PV), the technology that directly coverts daylight into electricity. PV is one of the fastest growing of all the renewable energy technologies; in fact, it is one of the fastest growing industries at present.(6)The solar cell found applications in customer electronics, small scale remote residential power systems, as well as in communication and

signaling. However, it is only in the second half of last decade that grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems entered the market with significant contribution as a result of the intensive roof programs in Japan, Germany and US. Todays photovoltaic market has exceeded 200MW per year and the market growth has been between 15% and 20% in the last decade . In 2000 the production of PV panels exceeded 280 MW, and has been forecasted to surpass 350 MW in 2001 (solar Access 2001c). According to market forecasts predicting an average growth of about 25% world PV market could reach 550 MW in 2005 and 1700MW in 2010. cells are mainly categorized in two types. i. Inorganic Solar Cell: At present, the active material used for the fabrication of solar cells are mainly inorganic materials, such as silicon (Si), gallium-arsenide (GaAs), cadmium-telluride (CdTe) and cadmium-indium-selenide (CTS). The power conversion efficiency for these solar cells varies from 8 to 29% (Table-1). The silicon solar cell is the traditional solar cell and found applications in various areas such as calculators, garden lamps and roof mounted large area cells etc. The silicon solar cell (SSC) has so far been the best candidate for conversion of sunlight and therefore the development and research of solar cells has been dominated by this.
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The solar

Semiconductor Material Mono Crystalline Silicon Poly Crystalline Silicon Gallium-Arsenide Amorphous Silicon Cadmium Telluride Cadmium Indium Selenide

Power Conversion Efficiency (%) 20-24 13-18 20-29 8-13 10-17 10-19

Technology Crystalline Thick and Thin Film Crystalline Thin Film Thin Film Thin Film

Table (1): States of power conversion efficiencies in February 2002, as reached for inorganic solar cells and the technology used to prepare these solar cells.

Source: Photovoltaic Network for the development of roadmap for photovoltaic (PV-NET).

Silicon solar cells trace their history back to the 1950s where the first silicon solar cell was reported by Chapin, Fuller and Pearson. It had a power conversion efficiency of 6%.(8)Up to 2001, the silicon solar cells dominated the photovoltaic market by 82%(Figure 1.4)and the recorded efficiency for a laboratory cell was 24.7% while the efficiency of the commercial crystalline silicon solar panels was in the best case about 15%.

Single Crystal Si 43% 39% Amorphous Si Ribbon Si Thin Film Si CdTe Polycrystalline Si 13% 1% 1% 3% Figure1.4: World photovoltaic market in 1998 by technologies.

The main reason why Si has dominated the PV market is that high quality Si has been already produced at large quantities by the semiconductor industry. The processing of crystalline silicon wafers is high-level semiconductor technology, and such expensive and very capital intensive. This also adds directly to the cost of the photovoltaic modules, so that the cost of processed silicon wafers contribute to 50% of the total manufacturing cost of the module. A big question for the photovoltaic technology is the availability of highly purified Si. The PV industry has been using mainly low cost

reject material from the semiconductor industry. This has created a problematic dependence on the volatile semiconductor market causing fluctuations also in the cost of Si material for the solar cells.(7)The price per watt was very high, being as much as $200 per watt. This meant that silicon solar cells were not seriously considered as an everyday power source for many decades, only in very remote places and if the costs were made unimportant by the benefits of silicon solar cells(8) e.g. satellites.(9) Silicon solar cells has benefited from the fast development in the integrated circuit industry, and this means that it is now possible to produce silicon solar cells with efficiencies as high as 25%, and at a much lower cost than previously. The prices for solar cell power today lies approximately $10 and 12 per watt, based on todays prices on the internet.(8) In fact, it is generally seen that the dominance of the standard Si PV technology in the growing PV market can be realized only by the production of special solar cell grade silicon. Yet the first efforts to produce such material have been unsuccessful because of the high purity requirements and the small market for the special silicon at the moment. The current status of photovoltaic is that it hardly contributes to the energy market, because it is far too expensive. Although the manufacturing costs of silicon solar cells have dropped dramatically, but the cost are still too high for large scale energy production. It seems to be generally understood however, that the cost reduction can be achieved only by increasing manufacturing volume. From the manufacturing point of view this is coupled to the need for the special solar cell grade supply and from the markets point of view not very easy to achieve at present PV system costs without governmental subsidies.(10) Conventional solar cells were first commercialized in the 1960s for use in space program such as

The large production costs for the silicon solar cells are one of the major obstacles. Even when the production costs could be reduced, large scale production of the current silicon solar cells would be limited by the scarcity of some elements required; e.g., solar grade silicon. To ensure a sustainable technology path for photovoltaic, for reduce the costs of the current silicon technology need to be balanced with measure to create and sustain variety in photovoltaic technology. It is, therefore, clear that techno diversity, implying new solar cell technologies, is necessary. ii.
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Organic Solar Cell: Organic electronic materials are of interest for future applications in solar cells. This is due partly to the rapid growth of the photovoltaic market, which has stimulated research into longer term, more innovative photovoltaic technologies, and partly to the development of organic electronic materials for display applications. Organic materials are attractive for photovoltaic primarily through the prospect of high throughput manufacture using reel-to-reel or spray deposition. Additional attractive features are the possibilities for ultra-thin, flexible devices which may be integrated into appliances or building materials and tuning of color through chemical structure. The field has made impressive progress in the last 5 years. Solar power conversion efficiencies of over 2% have now been reported for four distinct classes of organic solar cell, a growing range of new photovoltaic materials have been studied and increasing numbers of academic research groups and companies have declared an interest in soft solar cells.
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Latest advances have shown a great potential for organic solar cells compared to conventional silicon solar cells. Their versatility in production methods, properties and applications looks very promising for the future of solar energy.

Advantages of Flexible Organic compared to Rigid Conventional Solar Cells: The latest advances in molecular engineering have uncovered a series of organic photovoltaic potential advantages that may eventually outbalance the benefits of silicon based solar cells. Although conventional solar cells currently dominate the existing market, the case may be quiet different in the near future. i. Manufacturing Process & Cost: OPV can be easily manufactured compared to SSC, and this is due to the molecular nature of the materials used. Molecules are easier to work with and can be used with thin film substrates that are 1000 times thinner than SSC (order of a few hundred nanometers). This fact by itself can reduce the cost production significantly. Since organic materials are highly compatible with a wide range of substrates, they present versatility in their production methods. These methods include solution processes (inks or paints), high throughput printing techniques, rollto-roll technology and many more, that enable organic solar cells to cover large thin film surfaces easily and cost-effectively. All above methods have low energy and temperature demands compared to SSCs and can reduce the cost by a factor of 10 or 20. ii. Tailoring Molecular Properties: An important advantage of organic materials used in solar cell manufacturing is the ability to tailor the molecule properties in order to fit the application. Molecular engineering can change the molecular mass, bandgap and ability to generate charges, by modifying e.g., the length and functional group of polymers. Moreover, new unique formulations can be developed with the combination of organic and inorganic molecules, making possible to print the organic solar cells in any desirable pattern or color. iii. Environmental Impact: The energy consumed to manufacture a solar cell is less than the amount required for conventional inorganic cells. An extensive use of organic solar cells could contribute to the

increased use of solar power globally and make renewable energy sources friendlier to the average consumer. Organic solar cells have certain disadvantages including their low efficiency and short life time. Nevertheless, their numerous benefits can justify the current international investment and research in developing new polymeric materials, new combinations,
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and

structures to enhance efficiency and achieve low-cost and largescale production is the target of the next decade. Classification of organic solar cell: In present time, organic solar cells are classified intofour categories on the basis of their architectures. This classification is shown by the following chart and gives brief introduction of each class. Organic Solar Cell

Single Layer Single Layer

Double Layer

Bulk Hetero junction

Laminated