Photovoltaic Cells

• Solar cells is device that convert an optical

input into current. i.e, a device that generates
voltage when exposed to light. The first
photovoltaic device was built, using a Si pn
junction, by Russell Ohl in 1939
 Photovoltaic Cells
The most common PV cells are made of single-crystal silicon. An
atom of silicon in the crystal lattice absorbs a photon of the
incident solar radiation, and if the energy of the photon is high
enough, an electron from the outer shell of the atom is freed.
This process thus results in the formation of a hole–electron pair,
a hole where there is a lack of an electron and an electron out in
the crystal structure. These normally disappear spontaneously as
electrons recombine with holes. The recombination process can
be reduced by building into the cells a potential barrier, a thin
layer or junction across which a static charge exists. This barrier is
created by doping the silicon on one side of the barrier with very
small amounts of boron to form p-silicon, which has a deficiency
of electrons in its outer shell, and that on the other side with
phosphorus to form n-silicon, which has an excess of electrons in
its outer shell.
• The barrier inhibits the free migration of electrons,
leading to a buildup of electrons in the n-silicon layer and
a deficiency of electrons in the p-silicon. If these layers
are connected by an external circuit, electrons (i.e., a
current) will flow through that circuit. Thus free electrons
created by absorption of photons are in excess in the n-
silicon and flow through the external circuit to the p-
silicon. Electrical contacts are made by metal bases on
the bottom of the cell and by metal grids or meshes on
the top layer (which must be largely uncovered to allow
penetration of photons)
• Current-voltage (I -V ) characteristics of a typical
PV module are shown in Figure. The current axis
(where V = 0) is the short-circuit current Isc, and
the intersection with the voltage axis (where I =
0) is the open-circuit voltage Voc. For this module
the current decreases slowly to about 15V and
then decreases rapidly to the open-circuit
conditions at about 21.4 V. For comparison, a
single 1-cm2 silicon cell at a solar radiation level
of 1000 W/m2 has an open-circuit voltage of
about 0.6V and a short-circuit current of about 20
to 30 mA.
• The power as a function of voltage is also shown
in Figure. The maximum power that can be
obtained corresponds to the rectangle of
maximum area under the I –V curve. At the
maximum power point the power is Pmp, the
current is Imp, and the voltage is Vmp. Ideally,
cells would always operate at the maximum
power point, but practically cells operate at a
point on the I -V curve that matches the I -V
characteristic of the load.
Graph of cell output current (red line) and power (blue line) as function of
voltage. Also shown are the cell short-circuit current (Isc) and open-circuit
voltage (Voc) points, as well as the maximum power point (Vmp, Imp).
• The short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage
are the maximum current and voltage respectively
from a solar cell. However, at both of these operating
points, the power from the solar cell is zero. The "fill
factor", more commonly known by its abbreviation
"FF", is a parameter which, in conjunction with Voc and
Isc, determines the maximum power from a solar cell.
The FF is defined as the ratio of the maximum power
from the solar cell to the product of Voc and Isc.
Graphically, the FF is a measure of the "squareness" of
the solar cell and is also the area of the largest
rectangle which will fit in the IV curve.
 Stand Alone PV System
Stand Alone PV System is made up of a number of
individual photovoltaic modules (or panels) usually of 12
volts with power outputs of between 50 and 100+ watts
each. These PV modules are then combined into a single
array to give the desired power output.
• A simple stand alone PV system is an automatic solar
system that produces electrical power to charge banks
of batteries during the day for use at night when the
suns energy is unavailable. A stand alone small scale PV
system employs rechargeable batteries to store the
electrical energy supplied by a PV panels or array.
• Stand alone PV systems are ideal for remote rural areas
and applications where other power sources are either
impractical or are unavailable to provide power for
lighting, appliances and other uses.
Simplified Stand Alone PV System
• Batteries – Batteries are an important element in any stand
alone PV system but can be optional depending upon the
design. Batteries are used to store the solar-produced
electricity for night time or emergency use during the day.
Depending upon the solar array configuration, battery
banks can be of 12V, 24V or 48V and many hundreds of
amperes in total.
• Charge Controller – A charge controller regulates and
controls the output from the solar array to prevent the
batteries from being over charged (or over discharged) by
dissipating the excess power into a load resistance. Charge
controllers within a stand alone PV system are optional but
it is a good idea to have one for safety reasons.
• Fuses and Isolation Switches – These allow PV installations
to be protected from accidental shorting of wires allowing
power from the PV modules and system to be turned “OFF”
when not required saving energy and improving battery
life.
• Inverter – The inverter can be another optional
unit in a stand alone system. Inverters are used to
convert the 12V, 24V or 48 Volts direct current
(DC) power from the solar array and batteries
into an alternating current (AC) electricity and
power of either 120 VAC or 240 VAC for use in the
home to power AC mains appliances such as TV’s,
washing machines, freezers, etc.
• Wiring – The final component required in and PV
solar system is the electrical wiring. The cables
need to be correctly rated for the voltage and
power requirements. Thin telephone or bell wire
will not work!
• Batteries are needed because of the fluctuating nature
of the output being delivered by the PV panels or array.
They also convert the electrical energy into stored
chemical energy for use when the solar array is not
producing power. During the hours of sunshine, the PV
system is directly fed to the load, with excess electrical
energy being stored in the batteries for later use.
During the night, or during a period of low solar
irradiance, such as a cloudy, rainy days, energy is
supplied to the load from the battery.
• So battery storage allows a stand alone PV system to be
run when the solar panels are not producing enough
energy on their own with the battery storage size tied
to the electrical usage. There are basically two types of
batteries used for solar energy storage: deep cycle
batteries and shallow cycle batteries.
• A charge controller, also known as a charge regulator, is
connected in between the solar panels and the
batteries. The charge controller ensures that the
maximum output of the solar panels or array is
directed to charge the batteries without over charging
or damaging them.
• They operate automatically, with most commercially
available charge controllers having a digital display to
show how much power has been created at any time,
the state of charge of the batteries and programmable
settings to discharge the batteries into a resistive
dummy load to minimise the chances of sulphation of
the battery cells extending the battery life.
 Photovoltaic Cell Types
Monocrystalline
The crystallinity of a material indicates how perfectly ordered the atoms are in the
crystal structure. The atoms making up a crystal are repeated in a regular, orderly
manner.
• The uniformity of the molecular structure of monocrystalline
semiconductor (single-crystal) is ideal for electrons to move efficiently
through the material.

Typically, the efficiency of monocrystalline Si cells ranges from 14% to 18%,

although occasionally you will see 19% to 20% specified.
Monocrystalline silicon solar cells are probably the oldest type of solar cells. They
are made from pure silicon crystal, which has continuous lattice and almost no
defects. Manufacturing of the Si crystals is rather complicated, which is responsible
for high cost of this type of photovoltaics. Recent developments have decreased the
total thickness of Si material used in monocrystalline cells to reduce cost. The
monocrystalline silicon cells are believed to be very durable and last over 25 years.
However, their efficiency will gradually decrease (about 0.5% per year), so
replacement of operating modules might be needed sooner. The main disadvantages
of the monocrystalline silicon panels are high initial cost and mechanical
vulnerability (brittle)
Another monocrystalline semiconductor is gallium arsenide
 Polycrystalline
This type of semiconductor cell generally has a lower conversion
efficiency compared to monocrystalline cells, but manufacturing
costs are also lower.
The polycrystalline material is composed of numerous
smaller crystals so that the orderly arrangement is disrupted
from one crystal to another.
A common example of a polycrystalline cell is polycrystalline
silicon. Cell efficiency typically is 13% to 15%. Polycrystalline
silicon is also widely used because it is less expensive than
monocrystalline silicon.
 Thin-Film
This type of solar panel is noncrystalline and can absorb up to forty times
more solar radiation than monocrystalline silicon.
Thin-film photovoltaic solar panel uses layers of semiconductor
materials from less than a micrometer (micron) to a few micrometers
thick; wafer-type silicon cells can have thicknesses from 100 to several
hundred micrometers.
Thin-films use much thinner semiconductor layers than wafer-type
photovoltaic cells (typically hundreds of times thinner).
Thin film photovoltaic cells are produced by depositing silicon film onto
substrate glass. In this process, less silicon is used for manufacturing
compared to mono- or polycrystalline cells, but this economy comes at the
expense of conversion efficiency. Thin-film PV have efficiency of ~6%
versus ~15% for single crystal Si cells. One way to improve the cell
efficiency is to create a layered structure of several cells. The main
advantage of the thin-film PV technology is that the amorphous silicon can
be deposited on a variety of substrates, which can be made flexible and
come in different shapes and therefore can be used in many applications.
The amorphous silicon is also less prone to overheating, which usually
decreases the solar cell performance. Amorphous silicon is most developed
among the thin-film PV.
 Advantages of PV cells
• Electricity produced by solar cells is clean and silent. Because they do not use
fuel other than sunshine, PV systems do not release any harmful air or water
pollution into the environment, deplete natural resources.
• Free
• Provide Electricity to Remote Places
• Solar power helps to slow/stop global warming and visually unobtrusive.
• Small-scale solar plants can take advantage of unused space on rooftops of
existing buildings.
• PV cells were originally developed for use in space, where repair is extremely
expensive, if not impossible. PV still powers nearly every satellite circling the
earth because it operates reliably for long periods of time with virtually no
maintenance.
• Solar energy is a locally available renewable resource. It does not need to be
imported from other regions of the country or across the world. This reduces
environmental impacts associated with transportation and also reduces our
dependence on imported oil. And, unlike fuels that are mined and harvested,
when we use solar energy to produce electricity we do not deplete or alter the
resource.
• A PV system can be constructed to any size based on energy requirements.
 Disadvantages
• Reliability Depends On Location
• Some toxic chemicals, like cadmium and arsenic, are used in the
PV production process. These environmental impacts are minor
and can be easily controlled through recycling and proper
disposal.
• Solar energy is somewhat more expensive to produce than
conventional sources of energy due in part to the cost of
manufacturing PV devices and in part to the conversion
efficiencies of the equipment. As the conversion efficiencies
continue to increase and the manufacturing costs continue to
come down, PV will become increasingly cost competitive with
conventional fuels.
• Solar power is a variable energy source, with energy production
dependent on the sun. Solar facilities may produce no power at
all some of the time, which could lead to an energy shortage if
too much of a region's power comes from solar power.