Appealing Characteristics

• Consumes no fuel
• No pollution
• Wide power-handling capabilities
• High power-to-weight ratio
 Solar Cell
• Low maintenance, long lasting sources
of energy
• Provides cost-effective power supplies
for people remote from the main
electricity grid
• Non-polluting and silent sources of
electricity
• Convenient and flexible source of small
amounts of power
• Renewable and sustainable power, as a
means to reduce global warming
• In 2008, the global market for
photovoltaic panels and equipment was
valued at 5 billion dollars
Why solar cells?
Solar Energy • Free
• Essentially Unlimited
• Not Localized
Solar Cells
• Direct Conversion of Sunlight 
Electricity
• No Pollution
• No Release of Greenhouse-effect
Gases
• No Waste or Heat Disposal
Problems
• No Noise Pollution — very few or
no moving parts
• No transmission losses — on-Site
Installation
Solar cell – Working Principle

 Operating diode in fourth quadrant generates power

 Operation Principle of Solar Cells

The principle of operation of the solar cell (exaggerated features to highlight principles)
Operation Principle of Solar Cells
Typical I-V characteristics of a Si solar cell. The short circuit current is Iph and the open
circuit voltage is VOC. The I-V curves for positive current requires an external bias voltage.
Photvoltaic operation is always in the negative current region.
Schematic representation of
a silicon p-n junction solar
cell.
 (a) Energy band diagram of a p-n junction solar cell under solar irradiation.
(b) Idealized equivalent circuit of a solar cell.
Schottky
junction
solar cell
p-i-n solar cell
(a) Current voltage characteristics of a solar cell under illumination. (b)
Inversion of (a) about the voltage axis.
Current-voltage characteristics and the equivalent circuit of solar cells that
have resistances.
 Solar Energy Spectrum

• Power reaching earth 1.37 KW/m2

Chart of the electromagnetic spectrum from the
ultraviolet region to the infrared region.
Semiconductors of interest as visible LEDs
Spectrum of the solar energy

Solar radiation outside

the earth’s surface:
1.35 kW/m2, 6500 times
larger than world’s
energy demand

AM0: radiation above the earth’s atmosphere

AM1.5: radiation at the earth’s surface
Blackbody radiation: ideal radiation
 Basic limitations of Si

•1.12 eV; indirect type:

•Relatively lower carrier mobility
(as compared to GaAs, etc.)
•Low absorption coefficient
 Due to its indirect band gap the thickness of Si
required for absorption of the solar spectrum is
> 100 m. The wafer thickness employed in
practice is ~ 250 m. This is wasteful of
material and puts a limit on the minimum cost.

Direct band gap semiconductors such as GaAs,

InP, CdTe etc have the advantage of high optical
absorption coefficient in the solar spectrum (104
cm-1 compared with 102 cm-1 for c-Si) and hence
active layer thickness of ~ 1 m suffices. Thus
these materials can be used in thin film form
leading to the possibility of substantial reduction
in cost.
Multijunction solar cells provide conversion
of the solar spectrum with higher efficiency.
Achievable efficiency of multijunction cells is > 50%

Ge

Si
GaInP GaAs
1600 1600
Spectral irradiance

1400 1400
1200 1200
(W/m2 µm)

1000 1000
800 800
600 600
400 400
200 200
0 0
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Wavelength (nm) Wavelength (nm)
 Solar cell: ultimate efficiency limit
5

• Intrinsic efficiency limit for a solar

photons/sec/m /m)
4
cell using a single

AM 1.5 solar flux

2
semiconducting material is 31%.
3
– Light with energy below the
bandgap of the
2
semiconductor will not be

21
absorbed

(10
1
– The excess photon energy
above the bandgap is lost in
the form of heat. 1 2 3 4
– Single crystal GaAs cell: Energy (eV)

25.1% AM1.5, 1x
• Multijunction (MJ) tandem cell Eg1 > Eg2 > Eg3
– Maximum thermodynamically Cell 1 (Eg1)
achievable efficiencies are
increased to 50%, 56%, and
72% for stacks of 2, 3, and 36
junctions with appropriately Cell 2 (Eg2)
optimized energy gaps

Cell 3 (E )
LBNL solar workshopg3
Multigap cell concepts. (a) Spectrum splitting
approach. (b) Tandem-cell approach.
 Direct bandgap tuning range of In1-xGaxN
Potential material for MJ cells

• The direct energy gap of In1-xGaxN covers most of the solar spectrum
• Multijunction solar cell based on this single ternary could be very efficient
Band gap Engineering
AxB1-xC: x atoms of element A and (1-x)
atoms of element B randomly mixed in the
group III sublattice and all the group V lattice
sites are occupied by element C: AlxGa1-xAs

AB1-xCx: all group III sublattice sites are

occupied by element A and mixing or
alloying takes place in the group V
sublattice between x atoms of element C
and (1-x) atoms of element B: GaAs1-xPx
AxB1-xCyD1-y: two group III elements A and
B randomly distributed in group III lattice
sites and two group V elements C and D
randomly distributed in group V lattice
sites: InxGa1-xAsyP1-y
AlxGa1-xAs (0 ≤ x ≤ 1)
GaAs : 1.43 eV (a = 5.6532 Å) when x = 0
AlAs : 2.1 eV ( a = 5.6611 Å) when x = 1

GaxIn1-xAs (0 ≤ x ≤ 1)
GaAs : 1.43 eV (a = 5.6532 Å) when x = 1
InAs : 0.36 eV ( a = 6.0584 Å) when x = 0
[x = 0.47 lattice matched to InP substrate ( a =
5.8686 Å), Eg = 0.74 eV]
(a) Compositional dependence of the AlxGa1-xAs energy gap. (b)
Compositional dependence of the refractive index at 1.38 eV.
GaAs1-xPx (0 ≤ x ≤ 1)
GaAs : 1.43 eV (a = 5.6532 Å) when x = 0
GaP : 2.26 eV (a = 5.4512 Å) when x = 1

GaxIn1-xP (0 ≤ x ≤ 1)
GaP : 2.26 eV (a = 5.4512 Å) when x = 1
InP : 1.34 eV ( a = 5.8686 Å) when x = 0
[x = 0.49 lattice matched to GaAs substrate ( a
= 5.6532 Å), Eg = 1.78 eV]
(a) Compositional
dependence for the
direct- and indirect-
energy bandgap for
GaAs1-yPy. (b) The alloy
compositions shown
correspond to red (y =
0.4), orange (0.65),
yellow (0.85), and green
light (1,0).
In0.53Ga0.47As (0.74 eV)
InP
In0.52Al0.48As (1.45 eV)

Ga0.51In0.49P (1.96 eV)

GaAs
Al0.51In0.49P (2.45 eV)

GaxIn1-xAsyP1-y / InP (y = 2.2x)

 Epitaxy
1. Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE)

2. Vapour Phase Epitaxy (VPE)

[CVD; Metalorganic Chemical
Vapour Deposition (MOCVD)]

3. Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)

Polycrystalline
Atoms arriving at the
substrate surface may
undergo
• absorption to the
surface,
• surface migration,
• incorporation into the
crystal lattice,
• thermal desorption.
depends strongly on
the temperature of the
substrate..
 Advantages of MOCVD

• Material can be grow at atmospheric

pressure.
• Precise control of composition doping and
thickness.
• Flexibility, scalability into larger commerial
system.
 MOCVD
• Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is a vapor-phase deposition
process where organometallic precursors are used to transport one or
more elements to a reaction/deposition zone

• The acronyms MOCVD  OMCVD  MOVPE  OMVPE are

interchangeable and describe the same process

• The simplest reaction for III-V semiconductors can be written as:

R3X + YH3  XY + 3RH
where R is an organic radical (methyl, ethyl, butyl, etc.), X is the Group
III element (Ga, In, Al), and Y is the Group V element (As, P, Sb)

• Example: trimethylgallium and arsine:

(CH3)3Ga + AsH3  GaAs + 3CH4
Steps involved in CVD process
 1. Transport of reactants by forced
convection to the deposition region.
2. Transport of reactants by diffusion
from the main gas stream through
the boundary layer to the wafer
surface.
3. Adsorption of reactants on the wafer surface.
4. Surface processes, including chemical decomposition or reaction,
surface migration to attachment sites (such as atomic-level ledges and
kinks), site incorporation, and other surface reactions.
5. Desorption of byproducts from the surface.
6. Transport of byproducts by diffusion through the boundary layer and
back to the main gas stream.
7. Transport of byproducts by forced convection away from the
deposition region.
 CdTe solar cell
First Solar has achieved a world record-setting cadmium-
telluride (CdTe) solar photovoltaic (PV) cell efficiency of
17.3%.
Module efficiency averaged 11.7% in this year’s (2011)
first quarter, up from 11.1% in Q1 2010. Average
production costs were $0.75 a watt. Management has set
a goal of achieving production module efficiencies of
13.5%-14.5% by the end of 2014. The company has
already recorded full module efficiencies of more than
13.5%, as well as one with a 13.4% efficiency confirmed
by NREL.
Along with pushing to achieve higher conversion
efficiencies, management is focused on end-to-end
improvement in its continuous manufacturing process. At
present, First Solar can turn a sheet of glass into a
complete solar module in less than 2.5 hours.
 Benefits of CdTe solar cells

•High absorption: Cadmium telluride is a direct-bandgap material

with bandgap energy of about 1.45 defined (eV), which is well
matched to the solar spectrum and nearly optimal for converting
sunlight into electricity using a single junction.
•Low-cost manufacturing: Cadmium telluride solar cells use low-cost
manufacturing technology to produce low-cost cells.
 Methods of preparation
The most common CdTe solar cells consist of a simple p-n
heterojunction structure containing a p-doped CdTe layer
matched with an n-doped cadmium sulfide (CdS) layer,
which acts as a window layer. This structure is similar to
the heterojunction in CIGS cells. As with most thin-film
solar technologies, carrier collection is accomplished by
drift, or field-assisted collection.

Typical CdTe thin-film deposition techniques include: close-

spaced sublimation, vapor-transport deposition, physical-
vapor deposition, sputter deposition, electrodeposition,
metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition, spray deposition,
and screen-print deposition.
CdTe solar cells are completed by adding a high-quality
transparent conductive oxide (TCO)—usually fluorine-
doped tin oxide (SnO2:F)—and a back electrical contact—
typically a metal or carbon paste with copper (Cu).

One disadvantage to using Cu in the back contact is the

gradual diffusion of Cu atoms into the CdTe and CdS
layers, which creates defects and promotes Cu
accumulation at the CdTe/CdS junction.

Overall CdTe solar cell performance was significantly

improved after the discovery of a cadmium chloride
(CdCl2) vapor treatment. This annealing process is
accomplished in the presence of oxygen at temperatures
near 390°C after the CdTe layer is grown on the CdS layer
and prior to the back-contact deposition.

The CdCl2 treatment has positive effects on the CdTe solar

cell, such as growth of larger CdTe grains and the
passivation of defects.
 CIGS solar cell efficiency
The technology yielding flexible solar cells with an 18.7%
record efficiency developed by scientists at Empa, the Swiss
Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.
The research team at Empa's Laboratory for Thin Film and
Photovoltaics, led by Ayodhya N. Tiwari, has been involved in
the development of high-efficiency CIGS solar cells on both
glass and flexible substrates with a special focus on reducing
the deposition temperature of the CIGS layer. The group has
repeatedly increased efficiency of flexible CIGS solar cells over
the past years -- first at ETH Zurich and now since three years
at Empa. With their current record value of 18.7% Tiwari and
his team nearly closed the efficiency gap to cells based on
multi-crystalline silicon (Si) wafers or CIGS cells on glass. The
low-temperature process now developed by Tiwari and Co. not
only yielded an 18.7%-efficiency cell on polymer foils but also
another record efficiency of 17.7% on steel foil without any
diffusion oxide or nitride barrier layer commonly used in high-
temperature processes.
 Advantages
1. The active layer (CIGS) can be deposited in a
polycrystalline form directly onto molybdenum coated
glass sheets or steel bands. This uses less energy
than growing large crystals, which is a necessary step
in the manufacture of crystalline silicon solar cells.
Also unlike crystalline silicon, these substrates can be
flexible.

2. One environmental advantage of CIGS solar cell

technologies have over Cadmium Telluride solar cell
panels is that it uses a much lower level of cadmium,
in the form of cadmium sulfide. In some designs,
sometimes zinc is used instead of cadmium sulfide all
together.

3. Like Cadmium Telluride panels, CIGS solar cell panels

show a better resistance to heat than silicon based
solar panels.
 Disadvantages

1. Like all thin film solar panels, CIGS panels are not as
efficient as crystalline silicon solar cells, for which the
record efficiency lies at 24.7%. They are however, the
most efficient of the thin film technologies.

2. So far being able to produce solar panels at prices that

can compete with polycrystalline or cadmium telluride
panels has not been possible. There is growing concern
by some parties, that the cost of fabricating the product
makes it difficult to be competitive with current grid
prices.

It may take several more years to solve the manufacturing

problems and bring the production costs in line with the
other leading producers of solar panels.
 Manufacturing methods
1. The most common vacuum-based process co-evaporates or co-
sputters copper, gallium, and indium, then anneals the resulting
film with a selenide vapor to form the final CIGS structure. An
alternative is to directly co-evaporate copper, gallium, indium and
selenium onto a heated substrate.Most CIGS solar cells are
produced using a co-evaporation technique that involves vacuums
and can be costly and time-consuming. The elements are heated
and deposited on a surface in a vacuum
2. NanoSolar uses a non-vacuum-based alternative process that
mixes the materials into a liquid then deposits nano-particles of
the precursor materials on the substrate and then sinters them in
situ.
3. Electroplating is another low cost alternative to apply the CIGS
layer. SoloPower uses this method.
4. A UCLA team has created its copper-indium-diselenide solar
cell without going through the vacuum evaporation process.
Instead, they dissolve their material into a liquid, apply it to a
surface and bake it. In solution form, their solar absorber layer --
the part made from the copper-indium-diselenide or CIGS
materials and critical to the performance of the cell -- can be
easily painted or coated onto a surface.
 Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell
Thin-film a-Si solar cells are commonly
known as hydrogenated amorphous silicon,
or a-Si:H. Currently, laboratory-scale cells
achieve conversion efficiencies of 12.5%,
whereas cells manufactured in high-volume
processes have efficiencies ranging from
6% to 9%. Although these efficiencies are
significantly lower than those of crystalline
silicon solar cells, these thin-film cells are
lighter, more flexible, and less expensive to
produce. Amorphous silicon solar cells
represented about 3% of the 2011 world
market.
The efficiency of amorphous silicon solar
cells decreases rapidly on its first exposure
to sunlight, reaching a relatively steady state
after about 1,000 hours of illumination. This
phenomenon, first described in 1977 by D.L.
Staebler and C.R. Wronski, results from the
creation of additional dangling bonds that act
as recombination centers.
Current research is focused on improving
thin-film quality and reducing the Staebler-
Wronski effect, by improved manufacturing
techniques, as well as developing thin,
flexible, waterproof roof shingles.
The benefits of amorphous silicon solar cells
include:
•Less material: Amorphous silicon is a
direct-bandgap material, which means that
less silicon is needed for a-Si cells.
•Inexpensive substrates: Amorphous silicon
can be deposited on inexpensive substrates,
such as glass, stainless steel, or even
plastic (compared to bulk silicon wafers),
which lowers costs.
•Manufacturing options: Amorphous silicon
can be deposited at temperatures below
300°C, making it a good candidate for
flexible substrates and roll-to-roll
manufacturing processes.