Solar Photovoltaic Physics

Lecture-2

Generation rate
The number of electrons generated due to the absorption of photons. The amount of light absorbed by a material depends on the absorption coefficient ( in cm-1) and the thickness of the absorbing material. The intensity of light in a material can be calculated

where is the absorption coefficient typically in cm -1 x is the distance into the material at which the light intensity is being calculated; I0 is the light intensity at the top surface.

where N0 = photon flux at the surface (photons/unit-area/sec.); = absorption coefficient x = distance into the material

Generation of Electron Hole Pairs with Light

Photon enters, is absorbed, and lets electron from VB get sent up to CB Therefore a hole is left behind in VB, creating absorption process: electron-hole pairs. Because of this, only part of solar spectrum can be converted. The photon flux converted by a solar cell is about 2/3 of total flux.

Energy Bands in a Semiconductor

Conduction Band Ec empty Valence Band Ev full of electrons

3 Types of Semiconductors
1. Intrinsic 2. n-type 3. p-type Types 2 and 3 are semiconductors that conduct electricity - How?
by alloying semiconductor with an impurity, also known as doping carriers placed in conduction band or carriers removed from valence band.
Note: Color Protocol

Type 1: Intrinsic
Pure semiconductor (intrinsic): contains the right number of electrons to fill valence band, therefore, conduction band is empty. Because electrons in full valence cannot move, the pure semiconductor acts like an insulator.

Type 2: n-Type
n-type: current is carried by negatively charged electrons How? group 5 impurity atoms added to silicon melt from which is crystal is grown 4/5 of outer electrons used to fill valence band 1/5 left is then put into conduction band. These impurity atoms are called donors.

Within conduction band the electrons are moving, therefore, crystal becomes a conductor

Type 3: p-Type
p-Type: current carried by missing electron holes which act as positively charged particles. How?
group 3 added to silicon melt need 4 out of 5 outer electrons but doping creates lack of electrons in valence band. missing electrons, holes, are used to carry current.

What Carries the Current?

Prevailing charges are called the majority carriers
prevailing charge carrier in n-type: electrons prevailing charge carrier in p-type: holes

Light Absorption by a Semiconductor

Photovoltaic energy relies on light. Light stream of photons carries energy Example: On a clear day 4.4x1017 photons hit 1 m2 of Earths surface every second. Eph()=hc/ =hf h = planks constant = 6.625 x 10-34 J-s = wavelength c = speed of light =3 x 108 m/s f = frequency However, only photons with energy in excess of bandgap can be converted into electricity by solar cells.

Atomic Orbital

Orbital shells