Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Reference books
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Reference books
 What do you mean by Photovoltaic?
Photovoltaic (or PV) systems convert light energy into electricity. The term "photo" is
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

a stem from the Greek "phos," which means "light." "Volt" is named for Alessandro
Volta (1745-1827), a pioneer in the study of electricity. Photovoltaic's literally means
light-electricity.
Photovoltaics (abbreviated PV) is the most direct way to convert solar radiation into
electricity and is based on the photovoltaic effect, which was first observed by Henri
Becquerel [1] in 1839.

It is quite generally defined as the

emergence of an electric voltage
between two electrodes attached to a
solid or liquid system upon shining
light onto this system.

It is quite generally defined as the emergence of an electric voltage between two

electrodes attached to a solid or liquid system upon shining light onto this system.
Practically all photovoltaic devices incorporate a pn junction in a semiconductor across
which the photovoltage is developed. These devices are also known as solar cells.
 What is a Solar Cell?
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

 It is also known as Photovoltaic cell (PV cell)

 A device that converts light energy (solar energy) directly to electricity.
 The term solar cell is designated to capture energy from sunlight,
whereas PV cell is referred to an unspecified light source.
 It is like a battery because it supplies DC power.
 It is not like a battery because the voltage supplied by the cell changes
with changes in the resistance of the load.

Made from a single

crystalline silicon wafer
 History of Solar Cells

•Rural communications
systems in the 1950s were
the first terrestrial
applications of PV
technology.
 History of Solar Cells

•The first practical

photovoltaic cell was
invented at Bell
Laboratories in 1954.
 History of Solar Cells

•Nearly every satellite and

spacecraft since 1958 has
relied on a PV system for
power generation.
Selenium photoconductive cells are commonly used in light-
sensing electronics, such as exposure timing circuits in cameras.
 History of Photovoltaic
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

1961: The UN conference on Solar Energy in the Developing World was held. The precursor to the PV
Specialists Conference, the Meeting of the Solar Working Group (SWG) of the Interservice Group for Flight
Vehicle Power, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first PV Specialists Conference was held in
Washington, DC.

1963: Japan installed a 242-W PV array on a lighthouse, the world's largest array at that time.

1964: The Nimbus spacecraft was launched with a 470-W PV array.

1965: Peter Glaser, A.D. Little, conceived the idea of a satellite solar power station. Tyco Labs developed the
edge-defined, film-fed growth (EFG) process, first to grow crystal sapphire ribbons and then silicon.

1966: The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory was launched with a 1-kW PV array.

1968: The OVI-13 satellite was launched with two CdS panels.

1972: The French install a CdS PV system in a village school in Niger to run an educational TV.

1973: The Cherry Hill Conference was held in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

1974: Japan formulated Project Sunshine. Tyco Labs grew the first EFG, 1-inch-wide ribbon by an endless-
belt process.

1975:
 History of Photovoltaic
1975: The U.S. government began a terrestrial PV research and development project, assigned to the Jet
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), as a result of recommendations of the Cherry Hill Conference. Bill Yerkes
opened Solar Technology International. Exxon opened Solar Power Corporation. JPL instituted the Block I
procurement by the U.S. government.

1977: The Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), later to become the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL), opened in Golden, Colorado. Total PV manufacturing production exceeded 500 kW.

1979: Solenergy was founded. NASA's Lewis Research Center (LeRC) completed a 3.5-kW system on the
Papago Indian Reservation in Schuchuli, Arizona; this was the world's first village PV system. NASA's LeRC
completed an 1.8-kW array for AID, in Tangaye, Upper Volta, and later increased power output to 3.6 kW.

1980: The first William R. Cherry Award was given to Paul Rappaport, SERI's founding director. New Mexico
State University, Las Cruces, was selected to establish and operate the Southwest Residential Experimental
Station (SW RES). A 105.6-kW system was dedicated at Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah; the
system used Motorola, ARCO Solar, and Spectrolab PV modules.

1981: A 90.4-kW PV system was dedicated at Lovington Square Shopping Center (New Mexico) using Solar
Power Corp. modules. A 97.6-kW PV system was dedicated at Beverly High School in Beverly,
Massachusetts, using Solar Power Corp. modules. An 8-kW PV-powered (Mobil Solar), reverse-osmosis
desalination facility was dedicated in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

1982: Worldwide PV production exceeded 9.3 MW. Solarex dedicated its 'PV Breeder' production facility in
Frederick, Maryland, with its roof-integrated 200-kW array. ARCO Solar's Hisperia, California, 1-MW PV
plant went on line with modules on 108 dual-axis trackers.
 History of Photovoltaic
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

1983: The JPL Block V procurement was begun. Solar Power Corporation completed the design and
installation of four stand-alone PV village power systems in Hammam Biadha, Tunesia (a 29-kW village
power system, a 1.5-kW residential system, and two 1.5-kW irrigation/pumping systems). Solar Design
Associates completed the stand-alone, 4-kW (Mobil Solar), Hudson River Valley home. Worldwide PV
production exceeded 21.3 MW, and sales exceeded $250 million.

1984: The IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Award was presented to Drs. David Carlson and Christopher Wronski at
the 17th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, "for crucial contributions to the use of amorphous silicon in
low-cost, high-performance photovoltaic solar cells."

1991: The Solar Energy Research Institute was redesignated as the U.S. Department of Energy's National
Renewable Energy Laboratory by President George Bush.

1993: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Solar Energy Research Facility (SERF), opened in
Golden, Colorado.

1996: The U.S. Department of Energy announces the National Center for Photovoltaics, headquartered in
Golden, Colorado.
•A utility-connected PV system is the most common system configuration.
Various electrical components control, condition, and distribute the power to
on-site loads.
•An electric utility produces
electricity at a power plant and
distributes it to consumers through
power lines, substations, and
transformers.
•Distributed
generation
systems
produce
electricity
close to
where it is
used.
 Solar Cell and Photoelectric
Effect
h
1. Light absorption

2. Generation of „free“ charges

+
-

3. effective separation of the

charges

Result: wearless generation of electrical Power

by light absorption

15
 energy-states in solids:
Insulator
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

electron-energy
conduction-band

Fermi- bandgap EG
level EF (> 5 eV)

valence-band

16
 Terms:
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Fermilevel EF: limit between occupied and non occupied

energy-states at T = 0 K (absolute zero)

valence-band: completely occupied energy-band just be-

low the Ferminiveau at T = 0 K, the
electrons are „fixed“ (tightly bound)
inside the atomic structure

conduction-band: energy-band just above the valence-band,

the electrons can move „freely“

bandgap EG: distance between valance-band and

conduction band

17
 energy-states in solids:
semiconductor
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

electron-energy

conduction-band

Fermi- bandgap EG
level EF ( 0,5 – 2 eV)

valence-band

18
 Electron-Energy
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

At T=0 (absolute zero of temperature) the electrons occupy the lowest possible
energy-states. They can now gain energy in two ways:

Thermal Energy: kT (k = Boltzmanns Constant, 1.381x10-23 J/K, T

= absolute temperature in Kelvin)

Light quantum absorption: h (h = Plancks Constant, h = 6.626x10-34 Js,

 = frequency of the light quantum in s-1).

If the energy absorbed by the electron exceeds that of the band gap, they can
leave the valence-band and enter the conduction-band:

19
 Energy-states in solids:
energy absorption and emission
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

electron-energy

conduction-band

- x-

EF h
h
+ x+

Generation Recombination
valence-band

20
 Energy-states in semiconductors
physical properties:
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

 Thermal viewpoint: The larger the bandgap the

lower is the conductivity. Increasing temperature
reduces the electrical resistance (NTC, negative
temperature coefficient resistor)
 Optical viewpoint: the larger the bandgap the
lower is the absorption of light quantums.
Increasing light irradiation decreases the
electrical resistance (Photoresistor)

21
 N - Doping
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

crystal view energy-band view

conduction-band

Si Si Si
-
- - - - - - majority carriers
P+ P+ P+ P+ P+
Si Si
P+ Si EF
donator level

Si Si Si

n-conducting Silicon
valence-band

22
 P - Doping
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

crystal energy-band view

conduction band

Si Si +
Si

Si B-
Si + Si EF acceptor level
B- B- B- B- B-
+ + + + + majority carriers
Si Si Si

p-conducting Silicon valence-band

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Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
p/n-junction without light
Band pattern view

depletion-zone

Diffusion
-
U - - - - -
d P+ P+ P+ P+ P+ EF
B- B- B- B- B-
+ + + + +

+
Diffusion

Ed
+ - p – type region
n – type region internal electrical field

24
 Irradiated p/n-junction
band pattern view (absorption p-zone)
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

E = h depletion-zone

photocurrent
-
U - - - - -
d P+ P+ P+ P+ P+ EF
B- B- B- B- B-
+ + + + +

Ed
+ - p–type region
n–type region Internal electrical field

25
 Charge carrier separation within
p/n–junction
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Diffusion:
from zones of high carrier concentration to zones of low carrier concentration
(following a gradient of electrochemical potential)

Drift:
driven by an electrostatic field established across the device

26
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
1. A solar cell is a sandwich of n-
type silicon (blue) and p-type
silicon (red).
2. When sunlight shines on the
cell, photons (light particles)
bombard the upper surface.
3. The photons (yellow dot)
carry their energy down
through the cell.
4. The photons give up their
energy to electrons (green
dot) in the lower, p-type
layer.
5. The electrons use this
energy to jump across the
barrier into the upper, n-
type layer and escape out
into the circuit.
6. Flowing around the
circuit, the electrons make
the lamp light up.
 Equivalent circuit of a solar cell

IPH ID RS ISG IL
current
source RP RL
UD USG UL

IPH: photocurrent of the solar-cell

ID /UD: current and voltage of the internal p-n diode
RP: shunt resistor due to inhomogeneity of the surface and loss-current
at the solar-cell edges
RS: serial resistor due to resistance of the silicon-bulk and contact
material
ISG/USG: Solar-cell current and voltage
RL/IL/UL: Load-Resistance, current and voltage
ISG = IL, USG = UL
4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 28
Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Solar Cell Properties
Open circuit voltage (VOC)
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Short circuit current (ISC)

Maximum power
Efficiency

Factors affecting Solar Cell Performance

Light intensity (type of light)
Light wavelength (color of light)
Angle of incident light
Surface condition of solar cells (cleanness)
Temperature on solar cells
 Solar-Cell characteristics

ID

simplified circuit diode-

characteristic

ID ISG
RL UD=USG UD
RL=0 RL= 
ISG / PSG MPP Load resistance

ISG = I0 = IK
ID solar-cell
characteristics
IMPP

MPP = Maximum Power Point Power

UMPP U0 USG
4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 30
Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Solar-cell characteristics

• Short-current ISC, I0 or IK:

• mostly proportional to irradiation
• Increases by 0,07% per Kelvin

• Open-voltage U0, UOC or VOC:

• This is the voltage along the internal diode
• Increases rapidly with initial irradiation
• Typical for Silicon: 0,5...0,9V

• decreases by 0,4% per Kelvin

4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 31

Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Solar cell characteristics

• Power (MPP, Maximum Power Point)

• UMPP  (0,75 ... 0,9) UOC
• IMPP  (0,85 ... 0,95) ISC

• Power decreases by 0,4% per Kelvin

• The nominal power of a cell is measured at international defined test

conditions
(G0 = 1000 W/m2, Tcell = 25°C, AM 1,5) in WP (Watt peak).

4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 32

Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Solar cell characteristics

• The fillfactor (FF) of a solar-cell is the relation of electrical power

generated (PMPP) and the product of short current IK and open-circuit
voltage U0

FF = PMPP / U0  IK

• The solar-cell efficiency  is the relation of the electrical power

generated (PMPP) and the light irradiance (AGG,g) impinging on the solar-
cell :

 = PMPP / AGG,g

4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 33

Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Solar-cell characteristics (cSi)
P = 0,88W, (0,18) P = 1,05W, (0,26)

P = 0,98W, (0,29)

4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 34

Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Solar-cell characteristics

4.6.07 - 6.6.07 Clemson Summer School 2007 35

Dr. Karl Molter / FH Trier /
 Peak Power Point (Maximum
Power)
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

A solar cell may operate over a wide range of voltages (V) and
currents (I). By increasing the resistive load on an irradiated cell
continuously from zero (a short circuit) to a very high value (an
open circuit) one can determine the maximum-power point, the
point that maximizes V×I, that is, the load for which the cell can
deliver maximum electrical power at that level of irradiation.
Dynamically adjust the load so the maximum power is always
transferred, regardless of the variation in lighting.
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Efficiency
A solar cell's energy conversion efficiency (η,
"eta"), is the percentage of power converted (from
absorbed light to electrical energy) and collected,
when a solar cell is connected to an electrical
circuit. This term is calculated using the ratio of
Pm, divided by the input light irradiance under
"standard" test conditions (E, in W/m²) and the
surface area of the solar cell (Ac in m²).
Pm
 
E x Ac
 The real Silicon Solar-cell

Front-contact

-
Antireflection- h n-region
coating
p-region

~0,2µm + + + + + + + + + + +
- - - - - - - - - -
~300µm
depletion zone

Backside contact

38