EEE 2203 PHYSICAL ELECTRONICS II: Lesson 3

SOLAR CELL
The functioning of a solar cell is similar to the photodetector. It is a
photodiode that is unbiased and connected to a load. There are three
qualitative differences between a solar cell and photodetector

1. A photodiode works on a narrow range of wavelength while solar cells

need to work over a broad spectral range (solar spectrum).

2. Solar cells are typically wide area devices to maximize exposure.

3. In photodiodes the metric is quantum efficiency, which defines the

signal to noise ratio, while for solar cells, it is the power conversion
efficiency, which is, the power delivered per incident solar energy.
Usually, solar cells and the external load they are connected to are
designed to maximize the delivered power.

A solar cell is a pn junction with no voltage directly applied across the

junction. The solar cell converts photon power into electrical power by
generation of electron-hole pair, EHP, and delivers this power to a load.
Consider a PN junction shown below with a resistive load R. Even with zero
bias applied to the junction, an electric field exists in the space charge
region.
Incident photon illumination can create electron-hole pairs in the space
charge region that will be swept out producing the photocurrent I L in the
reverse-biased direction as shown. This current I L produces a voltage drop
across the resistive load which forward biases the pn junction thus
producing a forward-bias current I F . The net pn junction current, in the
reverse-biased direction, is given by the ideal diode equation

I =I − I =I − I [ e ]
( qV
kT )− 1
L F L S

• I S = saturation current
• q = elementary charge
• V = voltage across the diode
• k = Boltzmann's constant
• T = absolute temperature in Kelvin

(( ) − 1)
qV
kT
I F =I S e

• The equation is derived from the ideal diode equation. It expresses

the current flowing through a diode in terms of the applied voltage,
the saturation current, temperature, and fundamental constants.

The equivalent circuit diagram is given below;

The IV characteristics given below;

These curves are at two different wavelenth of exposure. The rate of
electron created is A Ln G L within electron diffusion length L n and similar the
rate of hole created is A L p G L within hole diffusion length L p . G L is the
generation rate of electron-hole pair. Similar carriers are generated within
depletion width W b is A W b GL . Thus, the resulting optical current due to
photon generation is

I L =q A G L ( L p + Ln+ W b )
Where:

• I L : Optical current generated due to photon (light) absorption.

• q : Elementary charge (charge of an electron, approximately
− 19
1.6 ×10 C ).
• A : Area of the photodiode or photodetector.
• G L: Generation rate of electron-hole pairs due to light absorption.
• L p: Hole diffusion length.
• Ln: Electron diffusion length.
• W b : Depletion width or depletion region width.

Generation Rate (GL): This represents the number of electron-hole pairs

generated per unit volume per unit time due to the absorption of light. This
rate depends on the intensity and wavelength of the incident light, as well as
the material properties of the photodetector.
Diffusion Lengths (Lp and Ln): These are characteristic lengths
representing how far holes and electrons, respectively, can "travel" or
diffuse within the semiconductor material before recombining. These
lengths depend on the lifetime of the carriers and their mobility in the
material.

Depletion Width (Wb): The depletion region is a zone within the

photodiode where there are no free carriers (electrons or holes). The width
of this region plays a crucial role in the device's response to incident light.

Since the current is reverse saturation current whereby electron moves to n

region, while hole moves to p-region, therefore, the overall current of the pn
junction shall be

[( ) ( ) ]( )
[ n k T ] −1 − q A G ( L + L +W )
qV
Lp Ln
I =q A P n o+ P po e L p n b
τp τn

[( ) ( ) ]
That is on substituting
Lp L
I S=q A Pn o + n P p o
τp τn

• I : Total current flowing through the junction.

• q : Elementary charge (1.6 ×10− 19 C ).
• A : Area of the p-n junction.
• L p , Ln Diffusion lengths of holes and electrons, respectively.

• τ p , τ nMinority carrier lifetimes for holes and electrons, respectively.

• Pn o , P p oHole and electron concentrations.

e
[ ] −1
qV
nk T
• Represents the exponential part of the ideal diode equation
where V is the voltage across the diode, k is Boltzmann’s constant, T
is the absolute temperature, and n is the ideality factor.
• G L: Generation rate of electron-hole pairs due to light.
 • W b : Width of the depletion region.

in the diode equation. This shows a lowering of the normal I-V curve, which
depends on the amount of optical generated current. In terms os current
density

Js =
Is
A ( √
=q N C N V
1
NA
+
√ )
Dn 1 D p
τn N D τ p
⋅e
−E g
′ /kT
,

 J s : Saturation current density.

 N C , N V : Effective density of states in the conduction and valence
bands, respectively.
 N A , N D: Acceptor and donor impurity concentrations, respectively.
 D n , D p: Electron and hole diffusion coefficients, respectively.
 E g: Energy band gap of the semiconductor.

The higher wavelength produces a higher the current density. At dark( no

illunmination) the IV curve is exaclty as that of normal diode. In the absence
of light, the dark characteristics is similar to a pn junction I-V curve This IV
characteristic is normally invereted since the current are negative

(a) The current-voltage characteristic of (b) The same, inverted

a solar cell under illumination,

1. Maximum Current
Maximum current is produced when the value of resistance is 0 ie R=0. At
this point the current produce equals the short circuit current I S C while the
voltage V =0.

The maximum voltage is when the current I =0 and thus this is an open
circuit condition.

This voltage is given as V O C for open circuit voltage and can be obtained
from ideal diode equation by equating the current to zero and replacing the
voltage with the short circuit voltage

0=I − I [ e
( qVoc
kT )− 1 ]
L S

This gives

V OC =
kT
q
IL
( )
ln ⁡ + 1 ≅
Is
kT
q
ln ⁡
IL
Is ( )
[ ]
Equivalently L p+ Ln+W b
nk T
V o c= ln ⁡ ⋅ go p +1
e ( L p /τ p ) pn o + ( Ln / τ n ) n p o

The appearance of forward voltage V o c as the result of illumination is called

photovoltaic effect.

2. Maximum Power
The shaded region is the area of maximum power and corresponds to I M and
V M respectively. The maximum power output should be the product of the
two. The power delivered to the load is defined by

P=I ⋅V =I L ⋅ V − I S exp ⁡
[ ( ekVT )−1] ⋅ V
The maximum power delivered to the load can be obtained by getting the
derivative of the power and equating it to zero
 dP
dV [ ( ) ]
=0=I L − I S exp ⁡
∣e V m
kT
−1 − I S V m
e
kT
exp ⁡
eVm
kT ( ) ( )
where V m is the voltage that produces the maximum power. We may rewrite
Equation as

( 1+
Vm
Vt) ( )
exp ⁡
e Vm
kT
I
=1+ L
IS

The value of V m may be determined by trial and error. However, by noting

that ln ⁡(x) is a slow function of x we can approximate

ln ⁡ 1+ ( qVm
kT ) (
≈ ln ⁡ 1+
q V OC
kT )
Therefore

V m ≈ V OC −
kT
q (
ln ⁡ 1+
q V OC
kT )
With the optimal voltage known, the optimal current can be calculated as

I m=I s ( )
q V m qV
kT
e m /kT
(
≅I L 1−
1
q V m /k T).

Since the second term is very small, I m can be approximated to being equal
to I L

Pm ≈ I L x V m

Example
Calculate the open circuit voltage and the output power for a cell with
I L =100 m A , I S =¿ 1 n A at an output voltage of 0.35 V
Solution

( )
−3
100 ×10 A
V o c =(0.026 V ) ln ⁡ −9
=0.48 V .
1 ×10 A

Please note that I L and I S are negative and insert sign accordingly

P=( −10 A ) ⋅(0.35 V ) ( e − 1 ) −(− 0.1 A )⋅ (0.35 V )=3.48 ×10

−9 0.35/ 0.026 −2
W

3. Efficiency
The conversion efficiency of a solar cell is defined as the ratio of output
electrical power to incident optical power. For the maximum power output

Pm ImVm
η= ×100 %= × 100 %
P in Pin

The maximum possible current and the maximum possible voltage in the
solar cell are I S C and V O C , respectively. The ratio I m V m/I s c Voc is called the
fill factor and is a measure of the realizable power from a solar cell.
Typically, the fill factor is between 0.7 and 0.8

ImV m
F F=
I SC V O C

F F≡
Im V m
I L V OC
=1−
kT
qVOC
ln ⁡ 1+
qV m
kT
− (kT
q V OC )
I V F F x I L V OC
Peff = m m = =η
Pin Pin

Thus efficiency can also be given in terms of fill factor as

F F x I L x V oc
η=
P in

The "standard" solar radiation (known as the "air mass 1.5 spectrum") has a
power density of 1000 watts per square meter. Thus, a 12 % efficiency solar
cell having 1 m 2 of surface area in full sunlight (at solar noon at the equator)
will produce 120 watts of power
4. Effect of parasitic resistance
The figure below shows the possible ways to represent parasitic
resistances that can be present in a solar cell. The most common
parasitic resistances are series resistance and shunt resistance.

(I) For series resistance

This represents the resistances provided by the ohmic contact to the cell.

Model of solar cell with series resistance and I-V characteristic curve of non-
ideal solar cell

{ [
I =I L − I S exp ⁡
nkT ] }
q ( V + I RS )
−1

(ii). For shunt resistance

Represents the leakage resistances along the edges or due to manufacturing
defects

{ [ ] }
I =I L − I S exp ⁡
qV
nk T
−1 −
V
RS H
Recombination current
Recombination current occurs in the depletion region of the solar cell. For
single level center, the recombination current I rec can be expressed as

[
I rec =I S exp ⁡ ( 2e Vk T ) −1]
R

and

′
I S= A
( e n ni W b
√τ p τn )
Exercise
1. Discuss methods used in improving the efficiency of a solar cell

2. Explain the types of solar generation systems available

3. Where are solar cells very crucial?

4. Why are solar cells not very popular?

5. Why is silicon and Gallium Ascenide the preferred semiconductor for

solar cell?
* The most important parameters of a semiconductor material for solar cell
operation are:

 the band gap;

 the number of free carriers (electrons or holes) available for

conduction; and

 the "generation" and recombination of free carriers (electrons or

holes) in response to light shining on the material.

Recall

Diffusion Current