Harness of Solar energy

Photovoltaic cells,
which convert sunlight into electricity.

Solar thermal technology,

where heat from the sun is used to make hot water or steam.

Passive solar heating,

letting the sun shine through windows to heat the inside of a building.
Solar radiation Energy:

E y = E o sin(kx − t )
B z = B o sin(kx − t )

E o Bo E o2 cBo2
I = Saverage = S = = =
2μ o 2μ o c 2μ o

Energy per unit volume (nh)

How to capture solar radiation

energy???

Wave
or
Particle???
Solar radiation Energy:
Photo electric effect:

K.E = h- φ

In the photoemission process, if an electron within some material absorbs the energy of
one photon and acquires more energy than the work function (the electron binding
energy) of the material, it is ejected.
Solar radiation Energy:
Photo electric effect:

K.E = h- φ
Which frequency???
large frequency??

or more no of photon/intensity???
Solar radiation Energy:
Photo electric effect: K.E = h- φ

Only photons with an energy higher than the bandgap energy, can knock off electrons and
generate electricity.
However, if a photon has 1.7 eV and falls onto a 1.1 eV cell, the excess energy (0.6 eV) will be
lost in the form of heat.
if you set the bandgap too high, you don't generate a lot of electrons (current) because few
photons have so much energy.
However, a bandgap too low will generate a lot of electrons, but most of the energy is lost in the
form of heat
• Photo electric effect
• Material
• Metal/Insulator/Semiconductor???
• Band gap???
• Frequency range
• Absorption ???
• Photon energy???
• Free Electron ….. Current
• Efficiency
• Frequency range
• http://solarcellcentral.com/limits_page.html
• Wavelength range = 400-1200 nm
Frequency range = 7.5 x 1014 - 2.5 x
1014 Hz or 750 - 250 THz
• Photon energy E=hc/λ

• E (ev) = 1240/λ(nm)
=3 -1 ev

Solar energy spectra… broken/discontinuous???

• Frequency range/ Material/Band Gap
400-1200 nm 3 -1 ev

Why not conducting metal???

 Light matter interaction (absorption)

Solar energy conversion: depending kind of light matter interaction

Solar to thermal energy: absorbed energy increases the KE of electron and atoms,
leads to raise in internal energy hence temperature of the material.

Solar to photochemical: absorbed energy increases potential energy of electron which

drives chemical reaction

Solar to photovoltaic: absorbed energy excite the electrons to higher potential energy level
and then separation of charges from excited state to produce electricity
 Light matter interaction (absorption)

Solar energy conversion: depending kind of light matter interaction

material property/ band-gap/frequency/energy

Solar to photovoltaic: requires increase in potential energy of electron which need

various energy level or energy band separated from each other

Energy difference of these levels should be more than room temperature energy of electron
At 300 K apprpx 26 meV

Metals have continuous energy bands that’s why not suitable for solar cell application

Insulator : energy band gap to far for photon energy in solar light
In insulator : the energy band gap between the valence band and conduction band is very
large. the photons from the sunlight do not possess this amount of energy to excite the
electrons from valence band to conduction band.

In conductors, these band almost overlap each other and hence there are always free
electrons. But free electrons does not mean flow of current. Free electrons moving in a
specific direction is known as current. In conductors, the free electrons move randomly and
hence the relative speed is 0 and also high KE so heating prob.

In semiconductors, this gap is less and photons can do the task of exciting the electrons
without any problem.
In semiconductors, due to the presence of PN junction, there is a small electric field present
within the semiconductors without which the solar cells won’t work. In the PN junctions, the
electrons and holes try to mix with each other but they are not able to completely mix,
Otherwise the junction will become neutral and will be of no use. When few electrons and
holes combines with each other and rush towards the opposite charge, repulsive force
comes into play due to the heavy rush of similar charges.

A potential barrier is formed and when equilibrium is attained, we find the presence of small
amount of electric field within it. This acts as a driving force for the free electrons, all in one
direction.
Due to the presence of PN junction, there is a small electric field present within
the semiconductors without which the solar cells won’t work. In the PN junctions,
the electrons and holes try to mix with each other but they are not able to
completely mix, Otherwise the junction will become neutral and will be of no use.
When few electrons and holes combines with each other and rush towards the
opposite charge, repulsive force comes into play due to the heavy rush of similar
charges.

A potential barrier is formed and when equilibrium is attained, we find the

presence of small amount of electric field within it. This acts as a driving force for
the free electrons.

But in the case of conductors, since there is no equivalent PN junction, so the free
electrons move randomly.

So the conductors cannot be used in the solar cells or the photovoltaic cells.

Currently research is going on to use “conducting polymers” and “transparent

conducting films” in solar cells.

If you find any more info related to this interesting topic, then do share with us by
commenting below. Do share this post with your friends if you found it interesting.
 Semiconductor as solar cell material
Band Gap (eV)
Solar energy conversion: depending Material At 0 K At 300 K
kind of light matter interaction
material property/ bandgap/ Si 1.17 1.11
frequency/energy Ge 0.74 0.66
Many materials from group II to group VI falls in this range. InSb 0.23 0.17
InAs 0.43 0.36
Elementary form or combined with other semiconductor to form InP 1.42 1.27
binary/ternary semiconductor GaP 2.32 2.25
Combined semiconductor provide greater flexibility or range in GaAs 1.52 1.43
terms of electrical and optical properties GaSb 0.81 0.68
Multijunction solar cell : higherefficiency than signle junction
CdSe 1.84 1.74
solar cell
Electrical properties: CdTe 1.61 1.44
conductivity/mobility/drift velocity/carrier life time ZnO 3.44 3.2
Optical properties: ZnS 3.91 3.6
Absorption/radiation/reflection/transmission
Depends on atomic structure/arrangement of atom/bonding

Energy level/energy band gap

Solar cell: a semi-conductor P-N device working on
photo electric effect
Photon absorbed by material create electron hole
pair
This EHP when separated across pn junction:
results voltage across pn junction, which can drive
current in external circuit and hence power can be
extracted from the solar cell to light the equipment
or store the power
First solar cell: silicon wafer based solar cell (50Years)
Thin film Amorphous Si based solar cell
Thin film crystalline Si solar cell
Thin Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Copper Gallium Selenide CIGS cell

Efficiency: 24% at research level

17-18% commercially available
 Formation of Energy Band:
Energy levels: 2n2
One isolated Si atom:
4 valance elecrton in 8 allowed energy states
In Si crystal: trillions of atoms
N atoms:4N valance electron in 8N energy state

➢The band gap is the minimum amount of

energy required for an electron to break free
of its bound state.

➢When the band gap energy is met, the

electron is excited into a free state, and can
therefore participate in conduction.

➢The band gap determines how much energy

is needed from the sun for conduction, as well
as how much energy is generated.

➢A hole is created where the electron was

formerly bound. This hole also participates in
conduction.
➢Electron-Hole (carrier concentration)pair
generation
 Direct and indirect band gap semiconductors
E vs K Band Diagram…???

Importance for
solar cell???

Photon:
K: wave vector/propagation constant/momentum axis High energy low momentum
related to wave function of electron in lattice and Phonon:
represents the electron momentum in the lattice lattice vibration of atom/molecule
Low energy high momentum
Direct Band Gap:
Minima of conduction band Ec and maxima of valance band Ev has same K
Indirect Band Gap:
Minima of conduction band Ec & maxima of valance band Ev are not at same K
Momentum of electron n hole:
same for direct band Photon absorption/emission:
different for in-direct band
energy/momentum conservation
 Direct and indirect band gap semiconductors
E vs K Band Diagram…
energy/momentum conservation????

Direct Band Gap:

photon of Ec-Ev=Eg is absorbed directly
carrier generation
Falling back: carrier re-combination
Momentum of electron n hole are same so
energy and momentum both conserved

Indirect Band Gap:

Momentum of electron n hole are not same so to
conserved momentum
For excitation on electron from V to C band not
only need a photon of Ec-Ev=Eg but a phonon
having momentum difference of electron & hole

Photon-phonon absorption
 Direct and indirect band gap semiconductors
E vs K Band Diagram…
Photon-phonon absorption
two particle involvement make electron
generation and re-combination less probable
Effect on absorption of light:
Probability of light absorption is less
Light travels more depth before being absorbed
by indirect semi-conductor
Thicker layer of indirect semiconductor is
required in comparison to direct semiconductor
Indirect semiconductor: Si, Ge
200-300 micro meter
Direct semiconductor: GaAS, CdTe, CdS
1-3 micro meter
 Direct and indirect band gap semiconductors
Indirect semiconductor: Si, Ge E vs K Band Diagram…
200-300 micro meter
Direct semiconductor: GaAS, CdTe, CdS
1-3 micro meter
Thickness… advantage/disadvantage???
Why silicon bas solar cell??

For light-emitting and laser diodes

direct band gap materials, or indirect band gap????

 Conductivity

➢Intrinsic carriers are the electrons and holes that participate in

conduction.

➢The concentration of these carriers is contingent upon the temperature

and band gap of the material, thus affecting a material's conductivity.

➢Knowledge of intrinsic carrier concentration is linked to our

understanding of solar cell efficiency, and how to maximize it.
Conductivity: Dependence on temperature
At absolute zero (T=0 K), no conductivity (perfect insulator)
Conductivity: Dependence on temperature
At T>0 K, some carriers are thermally excited across the band
gap which results in small conductivity.
Thermally excited electrons
(intrinsic carriers)
Temperature Dependence of Intrinsic Carrier Concentration
➢Doping is a technique used to vary the number of
electrons and holes in semiconductors.

➢Doping creates N-type material when

semiconductor materials from group IV are doped
with group V atoms. P-type materials are created
when semiconductor materials from group IV are
doped with group III atoms.

➢N-type materials increase the conductivity of a

semiconductor by increasing the number of available
electrons; P-type materials increase conductivity by
increasing the number of holes present.
It is possible to shift the balance of electrons and holes in a silicon crystal lattice
by "doping" it with other atoms.
 ND

NA

n0

p0

T> 00 K
 Equilibrium Carrier Concentration

➢Semiconductors contain majority and minority carriers. The more abundant

charge carriers are the majority carriers; the less abundant are the minority
carriers.

➢The equilibrium carrier concentration can be increased through doping.

➢The total number of carriers in the conduction and valence band is called the
equilibrium carrier concentration.

➢The product of minority and majority charge carriers is a constant.

At equilibrium, the product of the majority and minority carrier concentration is a

constant, and this is mathematically expressed by the Law of Mass Action.

where ni is the intrinsic carrier concentration and n0 and p0 are the electron and hole
equilibrium carrier concentrations.
Using the Law of Mass Action above, the majority and minority carrier
concentrations are given as:

where ND is the concentration of donor atoms and NA is the

concentration of acceptor atoms.

 EG 
3
 i = ni e(  e +  h ) = C  e(  e +  h )  T exp −
2

 2kT 

• σi depends strongly on
the temperature and the
charge carrier densities
• extrinsic conductivity
depends additionaly on
excitation of dopants into
the conduction band.
 Absorption of Light

➢When the energy of a photon is equal to or greater than the band gap of the
material, the photon is absorbed by the material and excites an electron into the
conduction band.

➢Both minority and majority carriers are generated when a photon is absorbed.

➢The generation of charge carriers by photons is the basis of the photovoltaic

production of energy.

Photons falling onto a semiconductor material can be divided into three groups
based on their energy compared to that of the semiconductor band gap:
 Absorption of Light

❑Both minority and majority carriers are

generated when a photon is absorbe

➢Eph < EG Photons with energy Eph less than the band gap energy EG interact only
weakly with the semiconductor, passing through it as if it were transparent.

➢Eph = EG have just enough energy to create an electron hole pair and are
efficiently absorbed.

➢Eph > EG Photons with energy much greater than the band gap are strongly
absorbed. However, for photovoltaic applications, the photon energy greater than
the band gap is wasted as electrons quickly thermalize back down to the conduction
band edges.
 Absorption Coefficient

➢α : reflects how strongly photon get absorbed by material

➢Different semiconductor materials have different absorption coefficients.

➢Materials with higher absorption coefficients more readily absorb photons, which
excite electrons into the conduction band.

➢Knowing the absorption coefficients of materials aids engineers in determining

which material to use in their solar cell designs.
The graph shows that
even for those photons
which have an energy
above the band gap, the
absorption coefficient is
not constant, but still
depends strongly on
wavelength.

α and absorption length??

 Absorption Length/Depth
➢The absorption depth is given by the inverse of the absorption coefficient, and
describes how deeply light penetrates into a semiconductor before being absorbed.

➢Higher energy light is of a shorter wavelength and has a shorter absorption depth
than lower energy light, which is not as readily absorbed, and has a greater
absorption depth.

➢Absorption depth affects aspects of solar cell design, such as the thickness of the
semiconductor material.

La = 1/α cm
 Generation Rate
➢The generation of an electron-hole pair can be calculated at any location within
the solar cell, at any wavelength of light, or for the entire standard solar spectrum.

➢Generation is the greatest at the surface of the material, where the majority of the
light is absorbed.

The intensity of light at any point in the device can be calculated according to the
equation:

where α is the absorption coefficient typically in cm-1;

x is the distance into the material at which the light intensity is being calculated;

and I0 is the light intensity at the top surface.

n p
Gl(x,λ) = Gl0 e-αx = =
t t
 Generation Rate

➢The generation of an electron-hole pair can be calculated at any location within

the solar cell, at any wavelength of light, or for the entire standard solar spectrum.

➢Generation is the greatest at the surface of the material, where the majority of the
light is absorbed.

➢Because the light used in PV applications contains many different wavelengths,

many different generation rates must be taken into account when designing a solar
cell.

The generation rate gives the number of electrons generated at each point in
the device due to the absorption of photons. Generation is an important
parameter in solar cell operation.
Recombination
 Types of Recombination

Any electron which exists in the conduction band is in a meta-stable state and will
eventually stabilize to a lower energy position in the valence band. When this
occurs, it must move into an empty valence band state. Therefore, when the
electron stabilizes back down into the valence band, it also effectively removes a
hole. This process is called recombination.

➢There are three types of recombination;

➢Radiative recombination (Unavoidable recombination): spontaneous

➢Auger recombination (Unavoidable recombination): non-radiative

➢Shockley-Read-Hall recombination (avoidable recombination): non-radiative and

due to defects and imperfection in the crystal
 Radiative (Band-to-Band) Recombination

➢Radiative recombination is the recombination mechanism that dominates

in direct band gap semiconductors.

➢The light produced from a light emitting diode (LED) is the most obvious
example of radiative recombination in a semiconductor device.

➢Concentrator and space solar cells are typically made from direct band gap
materials (GaAs etc) and radiative recombination dominates.

➢However, most terrestrial solar cells are made from silicon, which is
an indirect band gap semiconductor and radiative recombination is extremely low
and usually neglected. The key characteristics of radiative recombination are:

➢In radiative recombination, an electron from the conduction band directly

combines with a hole in the valence band and releases a photon; and

➢The emitted photon has an energy similar to the band gap and is therefore only
weakly absorbed such that it can exit the piece of semiconductor.
 Recombination Through Defect Levels
Recombination through defects, also called Shockley-Read-Hall or SRH
recombination, does not occur in perfectly pure, undefected material. SRH
recombination is a two-step process. The two steps involved in SRH recombination
are:

➢An electron (or hole) is trapped by an energy state in the forbidden region which
is introduced through defects in the crystal lattice. These defects can either be
unintentionally introduced or deliberately added to the material, for example in
doping the material; and

➢The rate at which a carrier moves into the energy level in the forbidden gap
depends on the distance of the introduced energy level from either of the band
edges. Therefore, if an energy is introduced close to either band edge,
recombination is less likely as the electron is likely to be re-emitted to the
conduction band edge rather than recombine with a hole which moves into the
same energy state from the valence band. For this reason, energy levels near mid-
gap are very effective for recombination.
 Auger Recombination
➢Auger Recombination involves three carriers. An electron and a hole recombine,
but rather than emitting the energy as heat or as a photon, the energy is given to
a third carrier, an electron in the conduction band. This electron then thermalizes
back down to the conduction band edge.

➢Auger recombination is most important at high carrier concentrations caused

by heavy doping or high level injection under concentrated sunlight. In silicon-
based solar cells (the most popular), Auger recombination limits the lifetime and
ultimate efficiency. The more heavily doped the material is, the shorter the
Auger recombination lifetime.
 Surface Recombination
➢Areas of defect, such as at the surface of solar cells where the lattice is
disrupted, recombination is very high.

➢Surface recombination is high in solar cells, but can be limited.

➢Understanding the impacts and the ways to limit surface recombination leads to
better and more robust solar cell designs.

The dangling bonds at the surface of semiconductor cause a high local

recombination rate.
 Lifetime
➢The lifetime of a semiconductor is contingent upon the recombination rate, which
is dependent upon the concentration of minority carriers.

➢The lifetime of the material takes into account the different types of
recombination.

➢Lifetime is an indicator of the efficiency of a solar cell, and thus is a key

consideration in choosing materials for solar cells.

The low level injected material (where the number of minority carriers is less than
the doping) the lifetime is related to the recombination rate by:

where τ is the minority carrier lifetime, Δn is the excess minority carriers

concentration and R is the recombination rate.
Auger lifetime is a function of the carrier concentration and is given by:

Where the auger coefficient, C, for silicon is typically given as:

1.66 × 10-30cm6/s
 Diffusion Length
➢Diffusion length is the average length a carrier moves between generation and
recombination.

➢Semiconductor materials that are heavily doped have greater recombination

rates and consequently, have shorter diffusion lengths.

➢Higher diffusion lengths are indicative of materials with longer lifetimes, and is
therefore an important quality to consider with semiconductor materials.

In silicon, the lifetime can be as high as 1 msec. For a single crystalline silicon
solar cell, the diffusion length is typically 100-300 µm. These two parameters give
an indication of material quality and suitability for solar cell use.

The diffusion length is related to the carrier lifetime by the diffusivity according to
the following formula:

here:
L is the diffusion length in meters;
D is the diffusivity in m²/s and
τ is the lifetime in seconds.