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Introduction to Photovoltaic (PV) Technology

Eng. Firas Alawneh

Outline

History
Semiconductors
From Sand to Solar Cells
Semiconductors & Photovoltaic phenomenon
Silicon PV Cell Operation
Properties of the PV Cells
Standard Test Conditions (STC) of PV Cells &
performance parameters
Types of PV Cells
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History

1839 Photovoltaic effect discovered by Becquerel.

1870s Hertz developed solid selenium PV (2%).
1905 Photoelectric effect explained by A. Einstein.
1930s Light meters for photography commonly employed cells
of copper oxide or selenium.
1954 Bell Laboratories developed the first crystalline silicon
cell (4%).
1958 PV cells on the space satellite U.S. Vanguard (better than
expected).

Semiconductors
Solar cells are fabricated using semiconductors.
Semiconductors are made from crystal and can act as conductors or
insulators in different circumstances, according to the amount of energy
that is given to the material.
Silicon is the most common semiconductor crystal.

Silicon

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From Sand to Silicon Solar Cells

reduction

purification
(several steps)

1500-2000 C

300 C

SiO2

semiconductor
silicon
(hyper pure)

Metallurgical
Silicon

Quartz Sand

1100C
for ~200 300 hours

Solar cell
processing

Solar cell

slicing

wafers
Cast ingot

Photovoltaic Technology
Photovoltaic (PV) is the technology of converting light directly
to electrical energy (photo = light, voltaic = electricity).
Commonly known as solar cells.
The simplest systems power the small calculators we use every
day. More complicated systems will provide a large portion of
the electricity in the near future.
PV represents one of the most promising means of maintaining
our energy intensive standard of living while not contributing to
global warming and pollution.

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Photon Energy

Silicon Chemical Properties

Melting Point:
1410 C
Boiling Point:
2355 C

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Energy Bands for materials

Conduction
Band

Conduction
Band

Conduction
Band

Eg

Eg
Valence
Band
Metal

Valence e Band

Valence
Band

Semiconductor
Photon
E = h.c/

Element

Eg
(eV)

Silicon

1.14

Germanium

0.67

Tin

0.1

Copper

All at 20C

Insulator

The semiconductors in general lies between metal and insulator properties, it needs a
small energy related to insulator to be in conduction band.
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The response of the silicon due to the

incident Photons

Conclusion: we have to reengineer the material, so that

e+ e- (e) from
we can separate the
the e+
holes(e)
to
e+ e-electrons
ee+ eprevent the recombination inside the material.
ee+

ee+

ee+

ee+

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Photosensitivity?

e-e+

e-e+

e-e+

e-e+

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2. Doping of Silicon : positive (p)

and negative (n) layers

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What is Doping?
Answer: Adding foreign atoms to the silicon crystal to produce
negative or positive free charge carries (electrons or holes).

Why Doping?
Answer: As mentioned before, electrons freed and energized by
photons will wander for a short time and then recombine with a
wandering hole. The energy originally transferred to the electron
from the photon is simply lost as heat. The key to producing
usable output current is to sweep the freed electrons out of the
material before they recombine with holes.
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Doping the silicon

Pure silicon wafer is doped with a small amount of
another atoms at temperature (1000-1200)C, which
creates a valence bond between it and the silicon.
The most common impurity atoms are the Boron (B5)
and the Phosphorus (P15).
The Boron has three electrons in its outer level (less
than the silicon by one electron).
The Phosphorus has a five electrons in its outer level
(more than the silicon by one electron).
The Boron is doped by one atom for every 10,000,000
silicon atoms to form the P-type silicon.
The Phosphorus is doped by one atom for 1000 silicon
atoms, to form the N-type silicon.
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The P-type silicon

The silicon atom creates four
covalent bonds with other
neighboring atoms in the pure silicon
crystal.
When the crystal is doped with
Boron atoms, the silicon will make
three covalent bonds with it with the
forth bond missing, which represents
a hole (e+), so this type of
semiconductor is called P-type.

Hole

This hole is waiting for a free

electron to fill its location to create
the forth bond, so the impurity
atoms then is referred to it as
acceptor atoms.
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The N-type silicon

Silicon is doped with Phosphorus
which has five electrons in its
outer orbit. So one electron (e-)
will be free. This type of
semiconductor is called N-type.

Electron

Phosphorous atoms (P) can donate

this electron to another bond that
needs it, so it is referred to as
donor atoms.

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Doping in 3D view

N-type

P-type

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Doping in 2D view

P-type semiconductor

N-type semiconductor

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3. Photovoltaic Effect: p-n

junction operation and its parts

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The p-n junction

e+ e-

Depletion region

Built-in electric field

e+ e-

e- e+

E
ee+

ee+

e+ e-

e+ e-

Voltage Difference
Conclusion: The goal of doping is to create the depletion region to
create the electric field that separates the electrons from the holes to
produce the potential difference.

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Depletion Region

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Solar Cell Operation

e-

e-

e+

e-

e+
e+

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Solar Cell Operation

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Solar Cell Parts

(n+) & (p+) diffusions (heavily
doped silicon) used to
connect the layers with the
metal to decrease the series
resistance.

The top metal grid

N layer

P layer
Bottom
metal

Top view of
the cell

Bottom view
of the cell
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Silicon Solar Cell Packaging

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Mono-crystalline vs. Poly-crystalline Silicon

There are two types of crystalline silicon depending on its purity and crystals
orientation obtained during the crystal growth process:
Poly-crystalline: Non-uniform crystals orientation
Mono-crystalline: Uniform crystals orientation (purer and more expensive and
efficient)
The mono-crystalline silicon ingots are prepared by the exacting Czochralski
(CZ) crystal growth process (crystal pulling). While the poly-crystalline silicon
ingots are prepared by a simpler casting (or, more generally, directional
solidification).

Insulation

seed
Mono

Si liquid

Poly c-Si

Electric Heaters
Simple Crystallization

c-Si
Si liquid

CZ Crystallization Method

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How to distinguish between polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon

solar cells by visual inspection?

Poly-crystalline

Mono-crystalline
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4. Equivalent circuit of the solar cell

and characteristic curve

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Equivalent Circuit for Solar Cell

Standard Solar cell

Real Solar cell

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Equivalent Circuit for Solar Cell

Where:
Iss : Reverse saturation current (depends on: Material, Geometry, & temperature)
q : Electron charge (1.6*10-19 C)
n : Diode quality factor
(1 for ideal diodes and >1 up to 2 for real diodes)
k : Boltzmann constant (1.38*10-23 J/K)
T: Absolute cell temperature in Kelvin degrees

For real solar cells with finite values for RS and Rsh:

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Characteristics and Power for Solar Cell

3.5

I = IPH - ID

Cell Current (A)

Id

Isc

Iph

2.5
2

IV-Curve

1.5
Power

1
0.5

Voc

0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Ce ll Voltage (V)

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Operating Point & Maximum Power Point

3.5
Operating
Point

Cell Current (A)

3
2.5

RL
Imp

MPP

1.5
1
0.5

Vmp

0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Cell Voltage (V)

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5. Standard test conditions (STC)

and main performance parameters
and factors

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Standard Test Conditions (STC)

Global Solar Irradiance (G): 1000 W/m2
Cell Temperature (T): 25 C
Air Mass (AM): 1.5

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PV Performance Parameters
Open-circuit voltage (Voc)
Short-circuit current (Isc -(Iph))
Maximum power voltage (Vmp)
Maximum power current (Imp)
Maximum power (Pmp)
Maximum Power Efficiency (max)
Fill factor ( FF )

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Solar Cell Fill Factor

3.5
(Voc*Isc) Square

3
Cell Current (A)

2.5
(Vmp*Imp) Square

2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Cell Voltage (V)

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Solar Cell Efficiency

The electrical output depends on the operating point of the
solar cell and the incident radiant power depends on the solar
radiation (perpendicular to the surface of the solar cell) and
cell surface area.
The maximum efficiency of the solar cell is calculated at MPP,
which is:

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Efficiency of Solar Cell at MPP

The efficiency of the solar cell is the ratio of electrical power output to the incident
radiant power :

Input Power = G [W/m2] x Area [m2]

G Global Solar Irradiance

Output Power = Vmp [V] x Imp [A]

I
Resistor

V
+

Area
Solar Cell

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PV Efficiency Losses
Optical losses: Not all of the light is absorbed because of finite reflectivity.
Use antireflective coating.
Use multilayer coating with different indices of refraction.

Further reduction is caused by light blocked by the metal grid which is

needed for electrical contacts.

Recombination losses:

Many charge carriers recombine before they can

diffuse to the device terminals.

Series and Shunt resistance: The bulk resistance of the semiconductor

contributes some series resistance. The shunt resistance can be caused by
crystal lattice defects in the depletion region and/or leakage currents
around the edges of the cell.
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Temperature Effect on Solar Cells

The parameter most affected by an increase in temperature is the opencircuit voltage (Voc). Accordingly, the power of the solar cell at the
Maximum Power Point (MPP) decreases by increasing the cells
temperature.

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Temperature Effect on Solar Cells

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6. Solar cells types

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www.nrel.gov/pv/thin_film/docs/kaz_best_research_cells.ppt

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Thanks

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