Chapitre II

Introduction :
Photovoltaic systems can be defined as a source of renewable energy that
transforms sunlight to electrical energy. Moreover, it is a simple semiconductor
device. It contains two basic portions: stand-alone and grid connected PV
systems. Yet, Solar cells are the most prominent component of this
revolutionary technology. Besides, solar cells can be gathered to create modules
connected in series or in parallel to generate an array in order to increase the
production of power. Finally, other details will be introduced and discussed later
in this chapter such as; its structure, operation, and some affecting factors.

Solar Cell Overview

A solar cell can be termed as electronic equipment that has the ability to
convert the solar energy directly into electricity without any changes in the place
of its parts through the contribution of photovoltaic effect. A Solar cell is also
known Photovoltaic (PV) Cell. [1]

Features of Solar Cells :

 It is a no moving and solid device.
 “Photo” is defined as Light and “voltaic” indicates generating electricity.
 It is an electronic device composed of semiconductor substances like
silicon.
 In solar cells, energy of light is directly converted into Direct Current
(DC).
 In solar cells, the heat of light is not utilized to produce electrical energy.
  The discovery of photovoltaic effect was in 1839, the fabrication of the
first thin layer solar cells was in 1883 ,and the development of the first
functional photovoltaic cell was in 1954.
 many factors , like shading on cells, irradiance, temperature act, exert an
influence on the efficiency of solar cell
 In 2014, the multiple junction cells were used to reach the highest 44.7%
efficiency.
PV MODULE

PV ARRAY

Principle of working:

The most crucial components of solar cells are two kinds of

semiconductors; p-type and n-type silicon. The production of p-type silicon is
conducted through the implementation of atoms—such as boron or gallium—
which possess one less electron in their outside energy state than has silicon. 
Considering that boron possesses one less electron than is necessary to create the
links along with the nearby silicon atoms, an electron vacancy or “hole” is
established.

The n-type silicon is made by including atoms that have one more
electron in their outer level than does silicon, such as phosphorus. Phosphorus
has five electrons in its outer energy level, not four. It bonds with its silicon
neighbor atoms, but one electron is not involved in bonding. Instead, it is free to
move inside the silicon structure.

A solar cell consists of a layer of p-type silicon placed next to a layer of n-

type silicon (Fig. 1). In the n-type layer, there is an excess of electrons, and in
the p-type layer, there is an excess of positively charged holes (which are
vacancies due to the lack of valence electrons). Near the junction of the two
layers, the electrons on one side of the junction (n-type layer) move into the
holes on the other side of the junction (p-type layer). This creates an area around
the junction, called the depletion zone, in which the electrons fill the holes (Fig.
1, closeup).
Figure 1. Schematic representation of a solar cell, showing the n-type and p-
type layers, with a close-up view of the depletion zone around the junction
between the n-type and p-type layers.

When all the holes are filled with electrons in the depletion zone, the p-
type side of the depletion zone (where holes were initially present) now contains
negatively charged ions, and the n-type side of the depletion zone (where
electrons were present) now contains positively charged ions. The presence of
these oppositely charged ions creates an internal electric field that prevents
electrons in the n-type layer to fill holes in the p-type layer.

When sunlight strikes a solar cell, electrons in the silicon are ejected,
which results in the formation of “holes”—the vacancies left behind by the
escaping electrons. If this happens in the electric field, the field will move
electrons to the n-type layer and holes to the p-type layer. If you connect the n-
type and p-type layers with a metallic wire, the electrons will travel from the n-
type layer to the p-type layer by crossing the depletion zone and then go through
the external wire back of the n-type layer, creating a flow of electricity.

(Copyright © 2016 American Chemical Society on 2015.04.02. How a Solar

Cell Works?
Available from:
http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/
past-issues/archive-2013-2014/how-a-solar-cell-works.html?
cq_ck=1396892718960
Chris Woodford on 2016.04.28. Solar cells. Available from:
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/solarcells.html
Kathie Zipp).

2.1.2 Solar Cell Connections

Solar cell connection is just like battery connection. When positive
terminal of one solar cell is connected to negative terminal of another solar cell
then they form series connection. In series connection current is same for all
cells and voltage is added by each cell shown in figure 2.4.
And when all positive terminals of solar cells connected to one terminal
and all negative positive terminals of solar cells connected to another one
terminal then forms parallel connection. As shown in figure 2.5 here current is
added and voltage is same for all cells.

Fig 2.4 Series connection of solar cell

 Fig. 2.5 Parallel connection of solar cell

2.1.3 Solar Cell Technologies

All photovoltaic (PV) cells consist of two or more thin layers of semi-
conducting material, most commonly silicon. When the semiconductor is
exposed to light, electrical charges are generated and this can be conducted
away by metal contacts as direct current (DC). The electrical output from a
single cell is small, so multiple cells are connected together to form a 'string',
which produces a direct current.

8.1 Monocrystalline silicon PV panels

These are made using cells sliced from a single cylindrical crystal of
silicon. This is the most efficient photovoltaic technology, typically converting
around 15% of the sun's energy into electricity. The manufacturing process
required to produce monocrystalline silicon is complicated, resulting in slightly
higher costs than other technologies.

8.2 Polycrystalline silicon PV panels

Also sometimes known as multicrystalline cells, polycrystalline silicon
cells are made from cells cut from an ingot of melted and recrystallised silicon.
The ingots are then saw-cut into very thin wafers and assembled into complete
cells. They are generally cheaper to produce than monocrystalline cells, due to
the simpler manufacturing process, but they tend to be slightly less efficient,
with average efficiencies of around 12%.

8.3Thick-film silicon PV panels

This is a variant on multicrystalline technology where the silicon is
deposited in a continuous process onto a base material giving a fine grained,
sparkling appearance. Like all crystalline PV, it is normally encapsulated in a
transparent insulating polymer with a tempered glass cover and then bound into
a metal framed module.

8.4 Amorphous silicon PV panels

 Amorphous silicon cells are made by depositing silicon in a thin
homogenous layer onto a substrate rather than creating a rigid crystal structure.
As amorphous silicon absorbs light more effectively than crystalline silicon, the
cells can be thinner - hence its alternative name of 'thin film' PV. Amorphous
silicon can be deposited on a wide range of substrates, both rigid and flexible,
which makes it ideal for curved surfaces or bonding directly onto roofing
materials. This technology is, however, less efficient than crystalline silicon,
with typical efficiencies of around 6%, but it tends to be easier and cheaper to
produce. If roof space is not restricted, an amorphous product can be a good
option. However, if the maximum output per square metre is required, specifiers
should choose a crystalline technology.

Other thin film PV panels

A number of other materials such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper
indium diselenide (CIS) are now being used for PV modules. The attraction of
these technologies is that they can be manufactured by relatively inexpensive
industrial processes, certainly in comparison to crystalline silicon technologies,
yet they typically offer higher module efficiencies than amorphous silicon. Most
offer a slightly lower efficiency: CIS is typically 10-13% efficient and CdTe
around 8 or 9%. A disadvantage is the use of highly toxic metals such as
Cadmium and the need for both carefully controlled manufacturing and end-of-
life disposal; although a typical CdTe module contains only 0.1% Cadmium,
which is reported to be lower than is found in a single AA-sized NiCad battery.

Modeling of PV cell
Single PV cell is a small building block that made up the big PV power
conversion system for generating power. When the negative and positive lead is
connected to a load, makes an electrical circuit, there electrons flow completing
the circuit.
The generated current in PV is named photocurrent (IL). In a simple
single diode model of PV is constructed with photocurrent source that is
connected with a diode in parallel. The electrical behavior of this part works like
a p-n junction. The current generated from irradiance (G) is proportional to the
solar radiation that direct fall on the surface. Simple PV model has not counted
the series and shunt resistance. This simple model is possible to describe with
Shockley diode theory. PV is not a constant source of current. Simple single
diode PV model [Sera07, Rashel17a] shown in Figure 2.12.
 Figure 2.12 Simple single diode PV model.

Figure 2.12 shows simple single diode PV model that has no series and shunt
resistance. This model is represe❑❑nted based on Shockley diode equation
[Shockley61]. In Figure 2.12 G is the irradiance. The diode current is given by:
I D = I 0[exp (𝑞𝑉𝑛𝑘𝑇) − 1] (2.9)
According to the Kirchhoff’s current law, total incoming current and the
outgoing current summation are always zero. From Kirchhoff’s current law, the
current generated from PV is given by:
𝐼 = I L − I D (2.10)

The total current is the photocurrent minus the diode current is given by:
𝐼 = I L − I D = I L − I 0[exp (𝑞𝑉𝑛𝑘𝑇) − 1] (2.11)
In (2.10), IL is photocurrent, ID is diode current, and I0 is dark saturation
current, n is diode ideality
factor, q is electron charge, k is Boltzmann's constant, T is the cell temperature
of the junction.
For characterization of PV cell, short-circuit (Isc) current and open-circuit
(Voc) voltage have
considerable influence. When a voltage is zero then, Isc is equal to photocurrent
( I L).Therefore, 𝐼𝑠𝑐 = 𝐼 = I L.
The simple model gives the value for PV output. A series resistance is
added with simple PV model. Four-parameter model of PV cell is shown in
Figure 2.13 [Ahmed17].
 Figure 2.13 Four-parameter of PV cell model.

The four-parameter mathematical model gives the current-voltage

characteristics of PV cell. The total current is given by:
𝐼 = I L − I D = I L − I 0[exp (𝑞𝑉+𝑞𝑅𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑘𝑇) − 1] (2.12)
In (2.11), Rs is the internal series resistance in the PV equivalent circuit.
For making more approximate to get the output from it, needs a more
sophisticated model that includes series and shunt resistance. Five parameters
single diode PV model is well known and most used to simulate the PV cell.
This model is the electrical equivalent of PV cell. It shows approximate
behavior like solar cells in a PV panel. Series resistance and shunt resistance is
included in the parallel in the PV equivalent circuit and it becomes five
parameters model of the PV cell. Five parameters model of PV cell is shown in
Figure 2.14 [Rashel17a].

Figure 2.14 Single diode five parameters PV cell model.

In Figure 2.14, I L Photocurrent which is the current source for the circuit,
single diode D which have I D current across it, a series resistance Rs which
represents the resistance in the cell, shunt resistance Rsh is in parallel.
The current across the shunt resistance (Ish) is given by:
𝐼𝑠ℎ =𝑉+𝐼 R s R sh (2.13)
For Figure 2.15, applying the Kirchhoff’s current law, the total incoming current
and the outgoing current summation are always zero. From Kirchhoff’s current
law, the current generated from PV is given by:
𝐼 = I L − I D − I sh (2.14)
 After putting all the values, the total current is given by:
𝐼 = I L − I D − I s h = I L − I 0 {exp [((𝑉+𝐼 R S)𝑘𝑇)] − 1} − (𝑉+𝐼 R S R s h) (2.15)
In (2.15), the series resistance and shunt resistance is included. It is used for the
different simulations.
If the shunt resistance is much more significant than the load resistance,
and series resistance is much smaller than the load resistance, then it is possible
to ignore their loss in the cell. When the loss is ignored, then the series
resistance and shunt resistance also could be ignored from the model.
Then the total current is the difference between photocurrent and diode
current and the equation becomes like as same as (2.11). It is the ideal PV model
without series and shunt resistance.
The current and voltage has different significant characteristics for PV
model. The open circuit voltage (Voc) is the voltage when the current is zero.
The power output is also zero. The shortcircuit current (Isc) is the condition
when the voltage is zero and power production is zero. Current at maximum
power (Imp) is the current when the PV gives the maximum power output,
depending on internal and environmental conditions. The voltage at maximum
power (Vmp) is the voltage when the PV gives the maximum power. Maximum
power point (MPP) is important when the PV gives the best output. This point
depends on the different value that is related to internal and environmental
parameters.
2.1.6 I-V Characteristic Curve of a Solar Panel
A PV module produces maximum current when it’s positive and
negative terminal is shorted, this maximum current is named as short circuit
current of PV panel. When panel is short circuited, it’s voltage across terminal is
zero.

Fig. 2.9 Standard I-V Characteristic of a Solar Panel

When panel terminal is kept open circuited then the voltage across its
terminal is maximum called open circuit voltage Voc of that panel. This time
panel fells infinite resistance since the current is zero this time. Between these
two extremes point under different load resistance condition different pair of
points of current and voltage are achieved, by connecting points a curve is find
called I-V curve. This curve is called I-V characteristics of that particular panel.
Figure 2.9 showing the I-V curve with the output power curve.
As showing in figure 2.9 Voc is occurred when current is zero and is
occurred when voltage is zero on that curve and power of that panel at any point
in Watt is calculated by multiplying both the current and voltage of that point.
2.1.7 Impact of Solar Irradiation on I-V Characteristic of a
Solar Panel
Highest solar irradiance on the earth ground level is 1000 W/ . If the
solar irradiance is decreases due to cloud, the earth movement or any other reason
will reduce the output current of the solar panel because of the is directly
proportional to the sun irradiance while the variation on voltage is much smaller
as shown in Figure 2.10 [8].
2.1.8 Impact of Temperature on I-V Characteristic of a Solar
Panel
Temperature affects the saturation current of solar cell and small affect on
so has negative (-) temperature coefficient (for silicon –2.3mV/°C),
figure 2.11showing the I-V curve for different temperature variation.
Fig. 2.11 I-V curve for Different Temperatures