100% Clean,

Renewable Energy and

Storage for Everything
Mark Z. Jacobson
Stanford University
Chapter 5:
Photovoltaics and Solar
Radiation
How to PV Panels Work?
Photovoltaics (PVs)
• Defined: A material or device that converts photons of light energy
to electrical voltage and current

• A photon with short enough wavelength can cause an electron in a

PV material (semiconductor, such as Si) to break free of the atom
that holds it

• If a nearby electric field is provided, electrons can be swept toward a

metallic contact, where they can become part of an electric current
First solar cell to generate electricity – 1883
(Charles Fritts, U.S.)
Pressed a thin film of selenium against a brass metal plate, then laid an
even thinner layer of gold on top. The gold layer was so thin that sunlight
could penetrate through it. Exposing the gold to sunlight resulted in
electricity generation.

Werner Siemens, who confirmed Fritts’ experiment, commented,

“In conclusion, I would say that however great the scientific importance of
this discovery may be, its practical value will be no less obvious when we
reflect that the supply of solar energy is both without limit and without cost,
and that it will continue to pour down upon us for countless ages after all the
coal deposits of the earth have been exhausted and forgotten.”
Photovoltaics (PVs)
• PVs are semiconductor materials that convert sunlight to electricity

• Main material is silicon (Si). Other materials: Germanium (Ge), Gallium

(Ga), and Arsenic (As)

• Si has 14 electrons, including 4 in outer shell, thus a +4 nucleus charge.

Pure Si crystals have Si bonded to each other with covalent bonds.

• Boron (B) and Phosphorus (P) are added to Silicon to create electric
field in a PV cell.
 Energy Bands – Photoelectric Effect
VB = valence band;
CB = conduction band

If an electron in the valence band

acquires energy Ebg, the electron
can jump to the conduction band.
Photovoltaics (PVs)
• Si is a semiconductor

• Metals are conductors

• Metals, semiconductors, and insulators have energy bands:

 Valence band, forbidden band, and conduction band, forbidden band
 Electrons in conduction band contribute to current flow

• With metals, P-N junction can’t form, so free electrons move too randomly

• Insulators require too much energy to add electrons to conduction band

Band Gap Energy
• Forbidden band
• Gap between conduction band and valence band

• Band-gap energy (Ebg)

• Energy needed for an electron to free itself from the electrostatic force holding
it to its own nucleus and jump from the valence band to the conduction band

• Unit of band gap energy

• Electron-volt (eV) = energy an electron acquires when its voltage is increased
by 1 V (1 eV = 1.6x10-19 J)
Band Gap Energy
• Band gap energy for Si
• 1.12 eV

• When electron jumps, it leaves +4 nucleus with only 3 electrons 

net + charge or hole.

• Unless electron swept away by current, the same one will

recombine to fill hole
Photovoltaics (PVs)
• When electron freed, other electrons in lattice may fill the hole, thus moving
the location of net positive charge.

• Band-gap energy Ebg (J) = hn = hc/lbg

• h=6.626 x 10-34 J-s; c=speed of light 3x108 m/s; n=frequency, Hz; lbg=band-gap
wavelength, m

•  lbg=hc/Ebg=1.11 mm when Ebg=1.12 eV

• As such, silicon solar cells produce electricity only for solar wavelengths less
than 1.11 mm
Photovoltaics (PVs)
Only wavelengths less than 1.11 mm result in electricity production from pure Si cells

Other band gaps (eV) and band-gap wavelengths (mm):

Si 1.12 1.11
a-Si 1.7 0.73
CdTe 1.49 0.83
CuInSe2 1.04 1.19
CuGaSe2 1.67 0.74
GaAs 1.43 0.87

Shorter band-gap wavelength higher band-gap energy

Maximum PV Efficiency
Of total solar spectrum, PV converts energy below max wavelength, and for
each wavelength only up to max band-gap energy (Ebg). Thus, for Si,

• 30.2% of solar spectrum unavailable below lbg=1.11 mm because hn>Ebg

• 20.2% unavailable above lbg= 1.11 mm
• 49.6% available
• Another 7% loss due high temperatures (Stefan Boltzmann losses sT4)
• Another 10% loss due to recombination of electrons

 33.7% max efficiency for single-junction PV cell=Shockley-Queisser limit

Ideal PV Efficiency
• Lower Ebghigher band-gap wavelength/fewer losses above it but
more loss below it because more hn>Ebg

• Higher Ebglower band-gap wavelength/greater losses above it

but less loss below it because less hn>Ebg

 Greatest efficiency around Ebg = 1.2-1.6 eV

Temperature Effect on Band Gap Energy
• Band gap energy T dependent

• Higher T  less energy needed to send electron into conduction

band Ebg decreases and lbg increases

• Lower T  Ebg increases and lbg decreases

Photovoltaics (PVs)
• PV panels contain a built-in electric field to prevent electrons from
recombining with Si by carrying those in conduction band away

• To create electric field, contaminate each respective side of PV cell

with 1 atom per 1,000 of Si of

• Element with 5 electrons in valence band (e.g., P) from Column V

• Element with 3 electrons in valence band (e.g, B) from Column III
N-Type Material
• P has 5 electrons in valence band,
but there are only 4 electrons from
surrounding Si atoms to form
covalent bonds with, so 5th electron
breaks free and roams while P
retains an immobile positive charge
 n-type material since P donates
negatively-charged electron
P-Type Material
• B has 3 outer shell electrons, so
forms covalent bonds form with only
3 Si atoms. So, B borrows electron
from nearby Si to form 4th bond,  B
has net negative immobile charge. Si
now has hole filled by another
electron  hole elsewhere.  B is p-
type since creates roaming hole
Photovoltaics (PVs)
Types of PV Cells
• Si 2nd most abundant element = 20% of Earth’s crust.
• Si from high quality Silica or quartz (SiO2) from mines or sand.

• Single crystal Si (sc-Si) – uniform structure

• Polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) rock like chunks of a multifaceted metal –

less expensive and less efficient than sc-Si

• Amorphous Si (a-Si) made by vapor deposition of silane & hydrogen gas

– used in thin-film PV cells
Types of PV Cells
• First generation: 200 mm thick
 (sc-Si or poly-Si)

• Second generation: thin film (1-10 mm thick)

 (GaAs, CdTe, CIGS, or a-Si)

• Third generation: Multijunction tandem cells

 Single thin film with multiple materials or stack of different thin films
 One film: 33.7% max efficiency; two: 47%; three: 53%
PV Modules and Arrays
• One PV cell = ~0.5 V

• Module = 72, 96, or 128 pre-wired cells in a series in a package

• Array=modules wired in series to increase v or in parallel to increase i.

• For array, must optimize modules in series or parallel for max p=vi
PV Modules and Arrays
• Modules first stringed in series to increase v as much as safe, then
strings put in parallel to maximize power. This minimizes i2Rw
losses too.

• For series, total v is sum of individual module v’s and total i is just
the i in any one module.
PV Modules and Arrays
For strings in parallel, total current is sum of currents of each string
and total v is just the v of individual string.
Output of PV Panels
Solar PV Panel I-V and P-V Curves
Fill Factor and Panel Efficiency
Fill Factor
FF= pMPP / (iSCvOC)

Panel Efficiency
Epanel = pMPP,STC / (F1000 Apanel)

.
I-V Curves For Series or Parallel Panels
PV Losses
PAC=PDC,STC x Derate Factor x Ctemp

Derate factor (range)

PV module nameplate DC rating 0.98 (0.9-1.05)
Inverter DC to AC efficiency 0.98 (0.97-0.99)
Diodes and connections 0.995 (0.99-0.997)
DC wiring 0.98 (0.97-0.99)
AC wiring 0.99 (0.98-0.993)
Soiling 0.98 (0.7-0.995)
System availability 0.99 (0.7-1)
Age 0.98 (0.7-1) (0.5% per year)
Shading 0.97 (0.7-1)
Total derate factor 0.864 (0.2-1)
PV Output Correction for Cell Temperature
Ctemp = 1 – brefmax(min(Tc-Tref,55),0)

bref = Temperature coefficient (0.0011-0.0063 K-1) (e.g., 0.0025 K-1)

Tc = Ta+0.32Ftot/(8.91+2w) = PV cell temperature (K)

Tref = reference temperature (298.15 K)

w = ambient wind speed (m/s)
Ftot = solar flux (W/m2) normal to a panel
Shading Derate Factor

• Ground Cover Ratio (GCR)=Collector Area (AC)/Total Ground Area (AG)

• AC= panel height x width

• AG= (panel height x cos(tilt angle)+distance between panels) x width

• For tilt angle=30o, panel width=1.2 m, panel height=0.6 m, d= 0.76 m,

• GCR = 0.6 x 1.2 / [(0.6 cos(30o) + 0.76) x 1.2] = 0.47.

• This gives a derate factor for 30o fixed tilt of 0.975 (next slide)
Shading Derate Factor
Solar Output With Tilted and Tracked PV
Panels
Geometry For Calculating Solar Zenith
Angle on a Sphere
Solar Zenith Angle
• Cosine of solar zenith angle

• Solar declination angle (d)

 Angle between the equator and the north or south latitude of the point at
which the sun is directly overhead (subsolar point)

• Local hour angle (Ha)

 Angle, measured westward, between longitude of subsolar point and
longitude of location of interest.
Solar Declination Angle
• Solar declination angle (angle between equator and point at which sun is overhead)

• Obliquity of the ecliptic [Angle between the plane of the Earth's equator and the plane of the
Earth's orbit around the Sun (ecliptic)].

• Number of days since 12 PM GMT, January 1, 2000

NJD = 364.5 + 365 (Y – 2001) + DL + DJ

Solar Declination Angle Terms
• Ecliptic longitude of the sun
Angular distance along the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun (ecliptic) between a line from the
sun to the current position of the Earth and a reference line found when the sun passes closest to
the Earth (perihelion) during the NH spring equinox on a specific date

• Mean longitude of the sun. Same as ecliptic longitude, but assuming a circular orbit.

• Mean anomaly of the sun. Angular distance of Earth at its perihelion with elliptical versus circular
orbit
Solar Zenith Angle
• Local hour angle (longitude angle between point of interest and overhead sun;
ts=# seconds past local noon)

• Example:

 At noon, when sun is directly overhead, Ha = 0 --->

 When the sun is over the equator, d = 0 --->

Solar Zenith Angle
Example:
1:00 p.m., PST, Feb. 27, 2018,  = 35 oN
---> NJD = 6,631.4
---> gM = 6893.4o (mean anomaly of sun)
---> Lm = 6816.7o (mean longitude of sun)
---> ec = 6818.2o (ecliptic longitude of sun)
---> ob = 23.436o (obliquity of ecliptic)
--->  = -8.489o (solar declination)
---> Ha = 15.0o (hour angle)

---> s = arccos[sin(35o)sin(-8.489o)+cos(35o)cos(-8.489o)cos(15o)]=45.7o
Optimal Tilt Angles by Country/Latitude

Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere

Jacobson and Jadhav (2018)
Solar Zenith Angles in a Vacuum For
Tilting/Tracking
Horizontal cosqz=sinj sin(d) + cosj cos(d) cosH
Optimal tilt cosqz=sinj sin(d + b) + cosjcos(d + b)cosH
1-Axis vertical tracking cosqz=sin2j + cos2j cosH
1-Axis horizontal tracking cosqz=sinj sin(d + b) + cosj cos(d + b)
2-Axis tracking cosqz=sin2j + cos2j z=1

j = latitude
d = solar declination
H = hour angle
b = optimal tilt angle
Solar Zenith in Air for Tilting/Tracking
qz,air = arcsin(sinqz/rair) for qz ≤ p /2

qz,air = qz + qz,crit - p/2 for qz > p/2

Critical zenith angle

qz,crit = arcsin(1/rair) = 88.649o

Refractive index of air at 550 nm

rair = 1.000278
Solar Flux Normal to a Panel
Solar flux (W/m2/mm) normal to a panel at wavelength l

Ftot,l = Fdiffuse,l + cosqz,airFdirect,l

Fdiffuse,l = diffuse irradiance normal to a panel at wavelength l

Fdirect,l = direct irradiance parallel to solar beam at wavelength l
qz,air = solar zenith angle in air
Ann. Avg. Model v. SSE Data Direct + Modeled Ratio of Radiation to Tilted or Modeled Direct + Diffuse Solar
Diffuse Solar Radiation to Horizontal Tracked PV Panel to Horizontal PV Radiation Reaching Tilted or Tracked
PV panel Panel PV Panel

JacobsonandJadhav(2018)
Annual Average Incident Direct+Diffuse Solar
Radiation to Horizontal PV Panel

JacobsonandJadhav(2018)
Annual Avg Direct+Diffuse Solar Radiation Reaching Ratio of Solar Radiation Reaching 2-
Horizontal PV Panel Axis Tracked v. Horizontal PV Panel

JacobsonandJadhav(2018)
Calculation Solar Radiation Reaching the
Surface of the Earth
Solar Radiation at Surface Depends on
Cloudiness
kWh/m2/day)
World Solar Resource
(TW, Annually Averaged)

Land Ocean Global

Solar hitting ground 27,800 69,200 97,000

Max electricity output 5,600 13,800 19,400

Practical electricity 1,300 50 1,350

Radiation Spectrum
Radiation Spectra of Earth and Sun
Stefan-Boltzmann Law
Integrate spectral irradiance over all wavelengths

Stefan-Boltzmann law (W m-2)

Fb = esBT4

Stefan-Boltzmann constant
sB = 5.67 x 10-8 W/m2-K4

Example
T = 5800 K ---> Fb = 64 million W/m2

T = 288 K ---> Fb = 390 W/m2

Radiation Intensity (W/m2/mm)
Wien’s Law
Wien’s Displacement Law
Differentiate Planck's law with respect to wavelength at constant temperature
and set result to zero

Peak wavelength of emissions from blackbody

Sun’s photosphere lp = 2897/5800 K = 0.5 m

Earth’s surface lp = 2897/288 K = 10.1 m

Earth-Sun Distance Varies Over Year
Solar Flux to Earth
Solar flux at top of Earth’s atmosphere (W/m2)
Averages 1,365 W/m2 over a year but varies daily

Res = Earth-sun distance (Astronomical Units, AU)×149,598,000 km/AU

Rp = radius of sun’s photosphere = 693,600 km
Fp = solar flux at photosphere = 63.5 million W/m2
Earth-Sun Distance
Earth-sun dist. (Astronomical Units, AU) Varies 0.984
to 1.018 (3.4%)

Res,AUs = 1.0014-0.01671cos(gM)-0.00014cos(2gM)

Radiation intensity proportional to 1/Res2 – varies 0.97

to 1.04 (by 7%)

Mean anomaly of the sun gM=357o.528 + 0o.9856003NJD

NJD=Number days (including leap days) from 12 PM

GMT Jan 1, 2000. NJD=1 at 12 PM January 2, 2000;

NJD=366 at 12 PM January 1, 2001

NJD=7305 at 12 PM January 1, 2020
Solid Angle
Radiance emitted from point (O) passes through
incremental area dAs at distance rs from the point.

Incremental surface area

Incremental solid angle (sr)

Steradians analogous to radians

Solid angle around a sphere

Spectral Irradiance
Flux of radiant energy propagating across a flat surface

Incremental spectral irradiance

Integral of dFl over the hemisphere above the x-y plane

Isotropic spectral irradiance

Extinction Coefficient
Loss of radiation through the atmosphere per unit distance

Total extinction coefficient (km-1)

ss,g = due to scattering by gases

sag = due to absorption by gases
ssp = due to scattering by aerosol and cloud particles
sap = due to absorption by aerosol and cloud particles
l = wavelength
Particle Scattering
Combination of reflection, refraction, and diffraction
Optical Depth
Dimensionless = extinction coefficient
multiplied by distance thru air

dSb = incremental distance along solar beam

dt = -sld = zincremental optical depth
dz = incremental altitude distance
m = cosine of solar zenith angle
Radiative Transfer Equation
Change in radiance / irradiance along a beam of interest

Change in radiance along incremental path length

Scattering of radiation out of the beam

Absorption of radiation along the beam

Scattering Angles
Single scattering of direct solar
radiation and multiple scattering
of diffuse radiation.
Radiative Transfer Equation

Multiple scattering of diffuse radiation into the beam

Single scattering of direct solar radiation into beam

Extinction Coefficients

Extinction due to total scattering

Extinction due to total absorption

Extinction due to total scattering plus absorption

Scattering Phase Function

Gives angular distribution of scattered energy vs. direction

Scattering phase function for diffuse radiation

redirects diffuse radiation from m’, ’ to m, 

Scattering phase function for direct radiation

redirects direct solar radiation from -ms, s to m, 

Scattering Phase Function

Scattering phase function defined such that

Q = angle between directions m’, ’ and m, 

Substitute -->
Scattering Phase Function

Phase function for isotropic scattering

Phase function for Rayleigh scattering

Scattering Phase Function
Scattering phase functions for (a) isotropic and (b) Rayleigh scattering
Asymmetry Factor
First moment of phase function -- relative direction of scattering
Radiative Transfer Equation

Single scattering albedo

Rewrite Radiative Transfer Equation

where
Two-Stream Method
Divide phase function into upward (+) and downward component

Substitute this equation into Jdiffuse

Two-Stream Method
Integrated fraction of forward scattered energy

Integrated fraction of backscattered energy

Effective asymmetry parameter

Two-Stream Approximation
Upward radiance equation

Downward radiance equation

Irradiances in terms of radiance for two-stream approximation

Two-Stream Approximation
Substitute irradiances and generalize for different phase function approximations

Surface boundary condition

Two-Stream Approximation
Coefficients for two stream approximations using two techniques