1. Photovoltaic Systems Engineering
SEC598
Photovoltaic Systems Engineering
(SEC501 Solar Engineering and Commercialization, I)
Session 05
Solar Cells, part 2
September 05, 2018

2. Session 05 Components PV System Components Solar cell fabrication
Solar cell operation
Solar cell electrical characterization

3. A simplified picture of the band model
Pierret

4. The Doping Model
Pierret

5. The Doping Model, cont.
Pierret

6. The Fermi Level (or, the chemical potential)
Pierret
Fermi Level < > Chemical Potential

7. The PN Junction
Nelson

8. The PN Junction, cont.
Neudeck

9. Electrical “carriers” in the PN-Junction
Neudeck

10. Electrical “carriers” in the PN-Junction, cont.
Neudeck

11. Electrical “carriers” in the PN-Junction, cont.
Neudeck

12. The Shockley Equation
Neudeck

13. The Shockley Equation

14. Now add photons to the system
Nelson

15. Equivalent circuit of the ideal solar cell
Nelson

16. Current and Voltage in the Solar Cell

17. Current and Voltage in the Solar Cell

18. The Solar Resource
Nelson

19. Photon Absorption (or Beer’s Law)
Nelson

20. Maximum efficiency in the Solar Cell
Nelson

21. Maximum efficiency, with common PV materials
Nelson

22. Light and Temperature effects in the Solar Cell
Nelson

23. Solar Energy Conversion
There is a relation between the current and the voltage of a solar cell:
Increasing
light
Nelson

24. Solar Energy Conversion
Comparison of current-voltage and power-voltage curves
Nelson

25. Solar Energy Conversion
The electrical power output from a single solar cell
is quite modest – insufficient for large scale applications
Increasing
light
Maximum
Power Points

26. Solar Energy Conversion – Fill Factor
Nelson

27. Resources
Jenny Nelson, The Physics of Solar Cells, Imperial College Press, 2003
Robert F. Pierret, Semiconductor Fundamentals, V.1., Modular Series on Solid State Devices, Addison-Wesley, 1988
Gerold W. Neudeck, The PN Junction Diode, V.2., Modular Series on Solid State Devices, Addison-Wesley, 1989