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Photovoltaics
NSE 834
Instructor : Dr. Sofia Javed
(sofia.javed@scme.nust.edu.pk)
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics
Course Contents
• Part 1: Fundamentals of photovoltaics:
• Properties of sunlight
• Introduction to Photovoltaic Physics, Applications, and Technologies
• Optical Properties of Nanostructures
• Photovoltaic Device Physics on the Nanoscale
• Part 2: Materials for photovoltaics
• Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells Recent Progress in Quantum Well Solar Cells
• Nanowire- and Nanotube-Based Solar Cells
• Semiconductor Nanowires: Contacts and Electronic Properties
• Quantum Dot Solar Cells, Luminescent Solar Concentrators
• Nanoparticles for Solar Spectrum Conversion
• Nano-plasmonics for Photovoltaic Applications
• Manufacturing Methods for Nanostructured Photovoltaic Devices
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics
Introduction
• Solar Energy
• Photovoltaics(PV
• The science and technology of
converting light into electricity.
• Photovoltaics is the process of
converting sunlight directly into
electricity using solar cells.
• The green house effect
Properties of Sunlight
There are several key characteristics of the incident solar energy which
are critical in determining how the incident sunlight interacts with a
photovoltaic converter or any other object. The important
characteristics of the incident solar energy are:
• The spectral content of the incident light;
• The radiant power density from the sun;
• The angle at which the incident solar radiation strikes a photovoltaic
module; and
• The radiant energy from the sun throughout a year or day for a
particular surface.
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Basics of light
• Sunlight is a form of "electromagnetic radiation"
• “Visible light” is a small subset of the electromagnetic spectrum
Energy of photon
ℎ𝑐
𝐸=
𝜆
1.24
𝐸 𝑒𝑉 =
𝜆 𝜇𝑚
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics
Power Density:
𝑊 ℎ𝑐
𝐻( 2 ) = Φ × using SI units
𝑚 𝜆
𝑊 1.24
𝐻( 2 ) = Φ × 𝑞 for wavelength in μm
𝑚 𝜆(𝜇𝑚 )
Basics of Light
Spectral Irradiance
• Spectral irradiance F is the power density at a particular wavelength
1
𝐹(𝜆) = 𝛷𝐸 in SI units
𝛥𝜆
• In terms of wavelength:
1.24 1
𝐹 𝜆 =Φ𝑞
𝜆 𝜇𝑚 𝛥𝜆 𝜇𝑚
• Units: Wm-2µm-1 The spectral irradiance of artificial light sources (left axis)
compared to the spectral irradiance from the sun (right axis).
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics
𝐻 = 𝑖 𝐹(𝜆)Δ𝜆
𝜆𝑖+1 +𝜆𝑖 𝜆𝑖 +𝜆𝑖−1
𝛥𝜆 = −
2 2
𝜆𝑖+1 −𝜆𝑖−1
=
2
• Power in each segment is then:
𝐻𝑖 = 𝛥𝜆 ⋅ 𝐹(𝜆𝑖 )
• Summing all the segments gives the
total power H as in the equation above. Calculating the total power density from a source requires
integrating over the spectrum by calculating the area of
each element and then summing them together.
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics
Blackbody radiation
• A blackbody absorbs all radiation incident on its surface and emits
radiation based on its temperature.
• The blackbody sources which are of interest to photovoltaics, emit
light in the visible region.
• The total power density from a blackbody is determined by
integrating the spectral irradiance over all wavelengths which gives:
H=σT4
Blackbody Radiation
The Sun
The total power emitted
by the sun is calculated
by multiplying the
emitted power density by
the surface area of the
sun which gives 9.5 x
1025 W
Atmospheric effects
Atmospheric effects have several impacts on the solar
radiation at the Earth's surface. The major effects for
photovoltaic applications are:
• a reduction in the power of the solar radiation due to
absorption, scattering and reflection in the atmosphere;
• a change in the spectral content of the solar radiation
due to greater absorption or scattering of some
wavelengths;
• the introduction of a diffuse or indirect component into
the solar radiation; and
• local variations in the atmosphere (such as water vapor,
clouds and pollution) which have additional effects on
the incident power, spectrum and directionality.
Atmospheric Effects:
Direct and Diffuse Radiation Due to Scattering of Incident
Light
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics
Air Mass
• The Air Mass is the path length which light takes through the
atmosphere normalized to the shortest possible path length (that is,
when the sun is directly overhead).
1
𝐴𝑀 =
cos 𝜃
𝑠 2
𝐴𝑀 = 1+
ℎ
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IG = 1.1. ID
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Twelve noon local solar time (LST) is defined as when the sun is highest
in the sky.
Local time (LT) usually varies from LST because of the eccentricity of the
Earth's orbit, and because of human adjustments such as time zones
and daylight saving.
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Declination angle
The declination angle, denoted by δ,
varies seasonally due to the tilt of the Earth on its
axis of rotation and the rotation of the Earth
around the sun
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Azimuth Angle
• The azimuth angle is the compass direction from which the sunlight is
coming.
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Sun Position
• The azimuth angle and the elevation angle at solar noon are the two
key angles which are used to orient photovoltaic modules. However,
to calculate the sun's position throughout the day, both the elevation
angle and the azimuth angle must be calculated throughout the day.
These angles are calculated using "solar time"
• Solar time,
• Elevation angle
• Azimuth angle
Are used to find the sun position
Nanotechnology for Photovoltaics