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Solar Cell Technology
MoserBaer PhotoVoltaic Limited
Sujit Pillai
2008-2009
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The Sun
An inexhaustible clean source of energy
In a single hour the Sun
delivers the same amount of
energy as consumed by all
of humanity in a year
~ 5 x 10
20
J

The energy delivered by the
sun in 36 hours is equal to
the energy content of all of
the earths known oil
reserves.
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Uranium Natural
Gas
Oil Coal
Annual Energy from the Sun
Annual Energy Demand
E
q
u
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v
a
l
e
n
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S
t
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c
k

o
f

E
n
e
r
g
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S
o
u
r
c
e

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PV Installed Capacity
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0
100
200
300
C
o
a
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O
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G
a
s
N
u
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l
e
a
r
B
i
o
m
a
s
s
H
y
d
r
o
W
i
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S
o
l
a
r
G
e
o
1999
2020
2040
2060
E
x
a
j
o
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l
e
s
Projected World Energy Output
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Cost of Solar Energy: a concern
The main barrier to widespread adoption of solar energy is cost.
Solar energy costs as much as $ 0.30 per kWh.
This is very high compared with:
Wind Energy: $ 0.05 per kWh
Natural Gas Energy: $ 0.03 per kWh.
BUT,
PV capacity is grwing by 50 % every year, and
With every doubling of capacity , PV costs come down by
20 percent.
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But, the future is bright..
Gradual improvements to the basic single-crystal silicon solar
cells have already reduced the cost of photovoltaic electricity
by about a factor of 20 in the past 30 years, and the continuing
development of cheaper crystalline materials should see this
trend continue.
According to a report produced by American scientists George
Crabtree and Nathan Lewis for the US Department of Energy
in 2005, solar cells will become competitive enough
generating electricity at $0.02 per kWh to be implemented
on a massive scale in about 2025 years' time.
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Semiconductor Basics
p-n junctions
n type doping
p type doping
Intrinsic Electrical Field
Photovoltaic Effect
Energy Band Diagram



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Photovoltaic Cell: A p-n junction
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Energy Band Diagram of a Solar Cell
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Fundamentals of Solar Cell Operation
Part of a wafer of silicon is doped to create an excess of holes
(i.e. a p-type semiconductor) while another part of the wafer is
doped to contain an excess of electrons (an n-type
semiconductor). At the junction between these two regions,
electrons and holes combine to create a potential barrier,
which keeps the remaining electrons and holes apart.
However, when a photon with sufficient energy strikes the
cell, it promotes electrons from the valence band to the
conduction band, creating electronhole pairs. Pairs formed on
or near the pn junction are forced by the electric field to
separate so that the holes pass to the p-type region and the
electrons to the n-type region, thereby producing a current.
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Silicon Solar Cell Construction
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Construction of Solar Cell
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Animation of Solar Cell operation

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Solar Cell Schematic
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Solar Cell Electrical Characteristics
Operation in the 4
th

quadrant generates
electric current.
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Electrical Properties of a Solar Cell

n - type

p - type

V
+
I
Photons
Junction

External circuit
(e.g. , battery,
lights)
Isc

V
+
I
) 1 ( -
BV
e A

External circuit
(e.g. , battery,
lights)
) 1 ( -
BV
e A
0
5
0.0 0.6 Diode Volts
D
i
o
d
e

A
m
p
s


Diode current
) 1 ( -
BV
e A
) 1 ( - -
BV
sc
e A I I
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Solar Cell IV Curve and P
max
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From Cell to Module to Array
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Solar Cell Performance
Efficiency is the key
parameter.
In 1961, Shockley and
Queisser calculated that the
simplest solar cell has a
maximum efficiency of 31 %.
This is a cell that consists of a
single pn junction, generates
just one electronhole pair for
each incoming photon, is
exposed to unconcentrated
sunlight, and wastes as heat
any incoming photon energies
in excess of the semiconductor
band gap
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Loss Mechanisms in a Si solar cell
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Evolution of Solar Cell Efficiency
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Technology Generations
Crystalline Silicon


Thin film multi crystalline


Nanotechnology
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Thin Film Solar Cells
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Multijunction Solar Cells
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Third generation Solar Cells
Nanocrystals / Quantum Dots

Dye sensitized

Quantum Well Cells

Organic / Plastic Solar Cells
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Quantum Dot Solar Cell
7
n
m
7
n
m

n
a
n
o
c
r
y
s
t
a
l

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Organic Solar Cell
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Solar Cell Outlook

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Convergence of Cost per kWh
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Solar Cell Efficiency vs. Cost
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Conclusions
Advancements in Solar Cell Technology hold
immense potential to drastically reduce the cost
while maintaining efficiency.

The next few decades will see increased
adoption of Solar Power.

Advances in Nanotechnology will play a key role
in the adoption of Solar cells.
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Conclusions
Solar energy will become the most important and cost-efficient
energy source in the future.
The present lack of silicon feedstock is promoting a rapid
development of next generation technology.
Immediate actions are taken to cut thinner wafers and increase
cell efficiencies for crystalline silicon.
New thin film technologies are being developed
Stronger influence from semiconductor industry will accelerate
the development of better technologies
Nanosilicon and other third generation technologies may offer
a long-term solution for the future solar energy technology.
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