Module C Solar Energy

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MODULE C: PHOTOVOLTAICS
ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
ED 72.28 SOLAR ENERGY
Dr. S. KUMAR
ENERGY field of study
January Semester 2012
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BASICS of PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY
PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT and SOLAR CELLS

! Generation of electromotive force as a result of the
absorption of ionizing radiation is photovoltaic effect.
! Devices that use the photovoltaic effect to generate a
voltage when sunlight is the source of ionizing radiation
are called solar cells.
! An individual cell typically produces power at about
0.5V with the current directly proportional to the cell's
area.
! The individual cells are connected in series-parallel
combinations to meet the voltage, power and reliability
requirements of the particular application.
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ATOMS AND ELECTRONS: Some basics
N Nucleus: protons
K, L, M orbits or shells round the nucleus
Electrons:
Theoretical maximum number of electron / orbit:
K 2
L 8
M 18, etc (2n
2
)
Each shell has a number of sub shell (2 (2l+1), l=0,1, 2,3..)
The outermost shell is important: valence. Electron in
outermost shell are known as valence electrons
N
K
L
M
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SEMICONDUCTOR PRINCIPLES
A conductor contains many free electrons which are not
bound to a specific site and are free to move, thus
constituting an electric current.
An insulator has no moving electrons and therefore, is
unable to carry electric current.
Semiconductors are those materials whose ability to carry
current lies between the two extremes.
Silicon is the most common material used in solar cells.
! Conductors possess a conductivity of about 10
6
mho/cm
! Insulators about 10
-10
mho/cm and
! Semiconductors have conductivities near unity.
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TYPES OF SEMI-CONDUCTORS
INTRINSIC: conduction without impurities (thermal
excitation)
EXTRINSIC: due to impurities or foreign atoms - doping
Example: Si 4 electrons in outer shell (total 14 - 2,8,4)
When phosphorous is diffused into silicon. Phosphorous
has 5 valence electrons (see figure) (total 15 2,8,5)
Excess of one electron
! Easy excited
! n type material
Boron ! p type material (5 -
2,3)
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TYPES OF SEMI-CONDUCTORS
Excess electron
Deficient electron
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PROPERTIES OF SEMI-CONDUCTORS
Two important properties of semiconductors are:
! The ability to alter the conductivity by several orders of
magnitude by relatively simple techniques (such as
doping). In this manner, the conductivity of the silicon
semiconductor can be easily varied from 1000 to 0.001
mho/cm.
! In a semiconductor, the flow of electrical current may be
due to either the negatively charged particles called
electrons or the positively charged particles known as
holes.
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SEMICONDUCTORS: BANDS OF ENERGY
In an isolated atom, electrons can exist only at
discrete or quantized energy levels (K, L, M, etc)
and the maximum number of electrons existing in
the allowed energy level is fixed.

But, when the atoms are brought close together (for
example, in a crystal), the electrons surrounding
the nucleus interact with the electrons from the
neighboring atoms and the discrete energy levels
(for individual isolated atoms) overlap and
become bands of allowable energy.
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SEMICONDUCTORS: BANDS OF ENERGY
There exists energy bands in which electrons
are allowed to exist and certain energy
bands where electrons are not allowed to
exist (called forbidden bands).

The outermost valence electrons and is
therefore called the valence band.
The next allowed band is called the conduction
band.
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FORBIDDEN GAP
Forbidden gap (Eg) is the minimum vertical distance
between the bottom of the conduction band and the top
of the valence band (given in terms of energy - eV)
! An Insulator has the width of the forbidden gap that is
large. (> 3 eV)
! A conductor contains an outermost band which is
partially filled.
! A semiconductor has the forbidden energy gap that is
much narrower.

An insulator at room temperature = 10 eV,
A semiconductor may have Eg of about 1 eV.
Excitation can be either optically of by thermal means.
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FORBIDDEN GAP
Energy band diagrams for (a) insulator, (b)
conductor, and (c) intrinsic semi-conductor
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Energy in eV of the solar spectrum
13
Forbidden energy gaps for some materials
of interest for Photovoltaic cells
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SEMICONDUCTORS: p and n type materials
! Silicon is the most common material used in
solar cell. Each silicon atom is surrounded by
four silicon atoms.
! Each atom has four valence electrons and each
of the four valence electrons in the crystal
lattice is shared by one of its four nearest
neighbors.
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! The substitution of a phosphorous atom (in the place
of a silicon atom) and thus makes available an extra
electron (as phosphorous has 5 valence electrons).
! Atoms such as phosphorous, which make one
electron available for conduction is known as a
donor atom.
! Such semiconductors doped with materials that
donate an electron are called n-type materials.
! Thus, in an n-type material, electrons move freely (at
normal ambient temperature).
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! Similarly, an impurity with three valence electrons,
such as boron creates a deficiency of one electron. A
valence electron can jump into this location with far
less energy than that would be required to jump the
entire energy gap (forbidden). The movement of this
electron into that position would create a hole in the
valence band of positive charge conduction.
! An atom which accepts an electron from its neighbor
is known as an acceptor atom. The semiconductor
thus doped is known as a p-type material and contains
many holes that move freely.
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! The holes in the p-type material and the
electrons in the n-type material are called as
majority carriers
! The holes in the n-type material and the
electrons in the p-type material are known as
the minority carriers.
18
Dopants which are used in silicon
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SEMICONDUCTORS: intrinsic/extrinsic
! In an intrinsic semiconductor, the free electrons
in the conduction band and the free holes in the
valence band are only due to the thermal
excitation across the forbidden gap.
! In an extrinsic semiconductor, the additional
electrons (in conduction band) or additional
holes (in valence band) are due to ionized
foreign atom (donor or acceptor) respectively.
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BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS
! Energy is not indefinitely indivisible. The smallest
amount of energy that can be transferred in a form of
energy and a quantum of light is called a photon.
! The photon must be treated not only as particle but also
as a wave. The wavelength of photon depends on its
energy (the greater the energy, the shorter its
wavelength).
! The energy of a photon (e) is proportional to the
frequency (") of light and is related by
e = h" ; h Planks constant or e = hc / #
! In the atom, an electron either absorbs a quantum of
energy or it does not (there is no middle way).
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BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS
! Thus, light must be treated not only as 'wave' but also
as a stream of 'particles', each of which carries a
discrete quantity of energy.
! The photon of energy h" has a momentum (h " /c).
! Therefore, the energy of an electromagnetic wave of
wavelength (#) is carried by particles (photons) of
momentum h #.
! Radiation thus has a wave characteristic and as energy
is transferred in discrete amounts. This gives light a
dual nature.
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Light Interaction in semiconductors
! Thus, radiation from the sun can be
considered as a stream of energy called
photons, each one carrying an energy exactly
equal to h ".
! Once light has entered the semiconductor, the
individual photons strike the electrons within
the semiconductor. As momentum is
conserved, the electrons receive almost all the
energy of the photon.
There are two possibilities
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(i) If the photon has less energy than the forbidden
energy gap, it cannot interact with the electron (in the
valence band) because after collision the electron
would have absorbed all the energy, but since the
energy received is less than the forbidden energy
gap, the electron remains in the valence band and the
energy gained is lost by collision with the lattice
atoms.

The net result is that there is an increase in the
temperature of the semiconductor.
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(ii) When the photon has energy greater than the
forbidden gap, the electron (in the valence band) that
receives this energy has now sufficient energy to
'jump' the forbidden energy gap and enter the
conduction band.
Generally, the electron will receive more than the
minimum amount of energy to enter the conduction
band, and, therefore, will enter the conduction band at
some elevated energy. The excess energy E
ex
of such
an electron is E
ex
= E E
c

where E is the final energy level of the electron and Ec is
the energy of the conduction band edge
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! The excess energy is rapidly lost by collision
resulting in a net temperature rise.
! The electron now has an energy Eg = (Ec - Ev)
greater than before the collision. The hole, thus
created in the valence band will rise to the top of
the valence band.
! Therefore, due to the action of the photon, an
electron hole pair has been generated and this
electron-hole pair created has gained an energy
Eg from the photon.
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P and n type semi conductors
In a p type semiconductor, each hole is associated with a
nearby negatively-charged dopant ion, and the semiconductor
remains electrically neutral as a whole.
However, once each hole has wandered away into the lattice,
one proton in the atom at the hole's location will be
"exposed" and no longer cancelled by an electron. For this
reason a hole behaves as a quantity of positive charge.
When a sufficiently large number of acceptor atoms are
added, the holes greatly outnumber the electrons, and become
the majority carriers, while electrons are the minority carriers
in P-type materials.
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P-N JUNCTION
! If a p-type and n-type semiconductor materials
are joined together, a p-n junction is made at
the boundary.
! A junction could be the result of a single
semiconductor crystal being part p-type and
part n-type, or being composed of two different
semiconductor compounds, or by applying a
metal to the surface of the semiconductor.
! The plane inside the semiconductor at which
the n-and p-type regions meet is defined as the
junction.
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P-N JUNCTION
! The p-n junction device is electrically neutral
and free of electrical field except in the vicinity
of the junction itself.
When a p-n junction is formed by bringing together
a p-type and an n-type material, as the
concentration of free electrons is much higher
in the n-type material (than the p-type material),
electrons drift across the junction from the n-
type to the p-type.
Similarly, holes move from p-type to n-type
through the junction.
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! A steady state is eventually reached and an
electric field is now created at the junction
caused by the accumulation of charges of
opposite nature (electrons and holes).
! This drift, or diffusion creates a net electrical
current to flow from p-type to n-type.

The p-n junction operates as a one way valve or a
diode for electrical current and is sometimes
known as a junction diode.
P-N JUNCTION
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! The electric field balances the diffusive forces
arising from the different concentrations of free
electrons and holes.
! Thus, a net movement of charge has occurred,
with a excess negative charge on the p-side and
positive charge on the n-side.
P-N JUNCTION
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(i) When light falls on the junction of a solar cell (no
external circuit),
! photon strikes the electrons in the p type and n type
material
! electrons that receive energy greater than the energy
(or forbidden gap) are excited and jump to the
conduction band
! electrons and holes are generated.
The majority carriers are not changed much (electrons in n
type and holes in p type) but, the minority carriers
increase is large (electrons in p type and holes in n
type)
P-N JUNCTION DUE TO LIGHT INTERACTION:
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As there is no external circuit, a new
equilibrium condition is reached.
The potential difference is called the
OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE (Voc) (as
there is no load).
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(i) When light falls on the junction of a solar cell (no
external circuit),
! photon strikes the electrons in the p type and n type
material
! electrons that receive energy greater than the energy
(or forbidden gap) are excited and jump to the
conduction band
! electrons and holes are generated.
The majority carriers are not changed much (electrons in n
type and holes in p type) but, the minority carriers
increase is large (electrons in p type and holes in n
type)
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(ii) When light falls on the Junction of a solar cell (external
circuit),
(a) if the resistance is negligible, this gives the SHORT
CIRCUIT CURRENT (Isc).
(b) if the resistance is finite, the current flow is reduced
because the separation of electron hole pairs at the
junction is not as effective as it was in (a).
Therefore, the load current is lower than the Isc.

Both these are functions of incident radiation. More
radiation, more electron hole pairs, higher Voc and Isc.
P-N JUNCTION DUE TO LIGHT INTERACTION
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Schematic of the physical configuration of a
typical solar cell
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SUMMARY
! To summarise the photovoltaic process:
One can consider a combination of a p (holes or
electron spaces are free to move at room
temperature) and n type (electrons are free to
move around at room temperature) semi-
conductor material in a p-n junction.
When some of these charges migrate across the p-
n junction and remain, a voltage is created
across the junction.
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SUMMARY
When this voltage has stabilised at an equilibrium value,
this opposes further migration of electrons and holes
and so in the dark, a semi-conductor acts as a diode.
But when a photon of light strikes a semi-conductor, the
voltage across the p-n junction attracts the newly
freed electrons on the p-side across to the n-side and
so an electric current flows.
Metal contacts on both sides of the cell are connected to
an electrical circuit to which a load can be connected.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOTOVOLTAIC
CONVERSION
CELLS, MODULES AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS
! CELL, MODULE, AND ARRAY
! CELL CHARACTERISTICS
! FACTORS INFLUENCING THE
CHARACTERISTICS
! ADVANTAGES OF PV
! PV SYSTEM COMPONENTS
! PV SYSTEM SIZING CONCEPTS
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CELL, MODULE AND ARRAY
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SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS
(i) Solar modules
to convert the solar radiation to electricity
(ii) Storage batteries
to store the electricity for use at night or during
cloudy weather. Lead acid batteries are the most
popular.
(iii) A control unit (manual or automatic) for the protection
of batteries, etc.
(iv)Distribution of electricity with care taken to minimize
any drop in voltage and
(v) Electric appliance
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ADVANTAGES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS
! highly reliable and life is > 25 years (at present)
! installation and maintenance are not difficult
! no moving parts
! simple to operate
! require no fuel and no running cost
! being modular can be increased in smaller
steps
! silent in operation and no pollution
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ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The magnitude of the current depends on
(a)the amount of sunshine (illumination)
(b) the temperature of the cell
(c)number of cells in the module
(d) effect of cell area
(e)type of silicon
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ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MODULES
Five basic characteristics are:
1. open circuit voltage (Voc)
2. short circuit current (Isc)
3. maximum power (Pmax)
4. maximum power voltage
(Vmp)
5. maximum power current
(Imp)
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Note
1) V
OC
non-linear to
irradiance
2) I
SC
linear to
irradiance
3) Actual voltage
depends only on
load and
illumination
CURRENT VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS
45
in
OC SC
in
P
FF V I
P
P ! !
= =
max
"
FF = Fill factor
46
Curve factor, voltage factor, and the characteristic factor
for a solar energy converter as a function of semi-
conductor energy gap width
47
APPLICATION of PHOTOVOLTAICS
48
49
Effect of temperature
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Effect of number of cells
51
Comparison of I-V curves (under the same test conditions)
for modules containing cells of different area but with the
same number of cells
52
Effect of irradiance on cell response
53
Effect of light intensity on cell voltage and current
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http://shareholdersunite.com/2011/03/07/solar-cell-efficiency/
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Basic solar electric system components

! Solar modules
! Storage batteries
! Control unit (manual or automatic)
! Distribution
! Electrical appliances
57
BATTERIES
! Batteries store electricity and supply it to the load when
the load and the supply do not match - lead acid and the
nickel cadmium batteries.
! Batteries are rated by the capacity given by ampere
hour (Ah) and it gives a measure of how much
electricity or charge can be stored in the battery.
" For example, a battery with a capacity of 80 Ah can
supply 8 ampere current for 10 hours or a 4 ampere
current for 20 hours.
! The state of charge at any moment is the amount of
charge left that can be used compared to fully charged
capacity. 100% refers to a fully charged battery, and so
on.
58
BATTERIES
! The sequence of discharging (to the load) and then
charging up (from the PV array) to the state of charge at
the start is called a cycle.
! The depth of discharge in one cycle depends on what
the cell is used for and is not always down to 0% state of
charge.
" A shallow cycle is one when the battery is
discharged by only a few percent, while a deep cycle
indicates a depth of discharge of 50% or more.
! The number of cycles that can be obtained from a
battery before its capacity is reduced to 80% is called
the cycle life. This depends on the cycle depth,
discharge current and the temperature.
59
BATTERIES
! Charging efficiency compares the amount of
charge used by the loads to the amount of charge
needed to recharge the battery back to its original
level.
" A charging efficiency of 100% means that all the
charge going in can be recovered during
discharge.
" When cycling up to 80% state of charge, the
charging efficiency is generally high (about
90%) for most batteries.
60
BATTERIES
61
SIZING A SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM
! A typical PV cell under an irradiance of 1kW/m
2

will deliver a maximum (Isc) of about 25 mA
current for each square cm of the cell surface.
! If the cell is left unconnected to a load (Voc), it
will generate about 0.6 V.
! The conversion efficiencies range from 10 to
13% and thus, a single cell of diameter 10 cm
generates about 1 W power under an irradiance
of 1kW/m
2
.
62
SIZING A SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM
! Photovoltaic modules are usually rated in peak
watts (Wp).
" This refers to the maximum power output
from the module when the cell is operating
at an irradiance of 1kW/m2 and a cell
temperature of 25
0
C.
" To obtain the maximum power, the voltage
and current should be as high as possible
and this is obtained at the bend of the IV
curve.
63
SIZING STEPS
! The first step is to know the energy (electrical)
requirements for each day.
" It should be ascertained whether the load is
a dc or ac and the voltage necessary.
" For each load, with the wattage used,
estimate the number of hours of operation it
will be in use during a day and thus the watt
hours used during the day.
! Thus, the daily total watt hour demand is
calculated.
64
SIZING STEPS
! The second step is to estimate the battery
sizing and the number of batteries needed for
the application.
" The period of storage could be as low as 2
days to about 7 days, depending on the
location and the application, voltage.
65
SIZING STEPS
! The next step is to estimate the solar radiation
availability for the location at the tilt angle of
interest.
" However, in photovoltaic system analysis,
the concept of peak sun hours or peak
hours per day is used, which gives the
equivalent time in hours at peak sun
condition (ie. 1 kW/m2) that yields the same
total radiation.
66
SIZING STEPS
67
SIZING STEPS
! The value of 1 kW/m has been chosen it is the
same value used in the standard test
conditions.
" This is approximately the maximum
radiation that would be received by a non
concentrating surface.
" In the calculation of daily radiation, usually
the lowest value of radiation (either for a day
or for a month) is taken so that a
conservative estimate is made on the
calculation of the array size.
68
SIZING STEPS
! Based on the total energy demand, the output from the
array is then estimated by taking into account the
losses and battery efficiency.
" From a knowledge of the PV module output
(generally given for standard conditions) and the
peak sun hour for the location of interest, the
energy output from each module is calculated.
! From this and the total energy demand, the number of
modules and their connections (series and parallel) is
calculated.
! The number of modules is chosen as the next higher
integer above the calculated value.
69
Single crystal Si
Amorphous Si
Dye-sensitized cell
Polymer
CdTe
CuInSe2
Polycrystalline Si
PHOTOVOLTAICS TECHNOLOGY
First Generation
Single crystal silicon wafers (c-Si)
Second Generation
Amorphous silicon (a-Si)
Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)
Cadmium telluride (CdTe)
Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) alloy
Third Generation
Nanocrystal solar cells
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells
Gretzel cells
Polymer solar cells
Dye sensititized solar cell
Fourth Generation
Hybrid - inorganic crystals within a polymer matrix
71
PV APPLICATIONS
! Street Lamps
! Solar Home systems
! Battery Charging Station
! Community Center
! Health Center (Lamp + Refrigerator)
! Post Office with radio telephone
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PV APPLICATION FOR
73
74
PV BALANCE OF SYSTEMS
Storage batteries of a 5 kWp PV system in Cambodia, for
lighting and water pumping applications
75
PV BALANCE OF SYSTEMS
Solar charge regulator developed in Cambodia
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SOLAR PV MICRO-UTILITY IN BANGLADESH
Location: Mannikgonj
Bazaar, Dinajpur
(300 km Northwest
of Dhaka)
Size: 350 Wp total (7
solar panels of 50
Wp each)
No. of shops
electrified: 24
Duration of power supply: 5 hours every night
Tariff: Tk.5 per night (1 US$ = 60 Tk)
Lamps: 1 no. 7W fluorescent lamp/shop
Installed in: 1998
77
SOLAR PV MICRO-UTILITY IN BANGLADESH
A shop in the
bazaar powered
by the PV micro-
utility
78
PV lighting in health
center (Cambodia)
79
Capacity: 1000 Wp
Applications:
1. Battery charging
! Approximately 200 300 batteries (20 Ah) per month are
charged in the charging house attached to community center,
for about 50 families.
2. Electricity supply for community center
! Video shows, karaoke singing and television
! The supply is sufficient for four hours of cultural activities
every night
Location: Dong Dinh (Mekong Delta)
Installed in: May 1998
PV BATTERY CHARGING STATION AND SOLAR
COMMUNITY CENTER, VIETNAM
80
PV BATTERY CHARGING STATION AND SOLAR
COMMUNITY CENTER, VIETNAM
81
PV module: 50 Wp
Charge controller
Battery: 70 Ah, 12 V
Power supply for:
! Lighting: 4 hours
per day (2 lamps)
! TV: B&W
! Radio cassette
player
SOLAR HOME SYSTEMS
Normal incandescent lamp: 60 W
82
PV STREET LAMP
Pv panel: 37 Wp
Battery: 70 Ah, 12 V
Charge controller
Lamp: 15 W
Operation: 4 hours/day
Charges during day and
lights at night
83
! To supply power
to 40 50 families
! Batteries being
charged at the
charging house
BATTERY CHARGING STATION
! PV array power: 1000 Wp
! 3 charging channels to charge 3 batteries
simultaneously
! Charge controller 1 no.
84
PHOTOVOLTAIC APPLICATIONS IN BUILDINGS
BUILDING
FACADE
INDIVIDUAL
HOME SYSTEMS
HIGH RISE
BUILDINGS
85
SOLAR ROOF SYSTEM
Model: SOLAR SKY WIDE, Japan
86
Source: IEA, 2010b
PHOTOVOLTAICS USE SECTOR WISE
87
87
PHOTOVOLTAICS IN THE WORLD
Germany installed 3,800
MW of PV in 2009,
bringing Germanys
overall PV generating
capacity to 9,800 MW.
Solar PV cell manufacturers
produced 10,700 MW PV
cells globally in 2009
51% increase from 2008.
China produced 3,800
MW of PV in 2009.

By the end of 2009, nearly
23,000 megawatts of PV had
been installed worldwide
Source: EPIA, 2010
88
Silicon solar cell production and price
89
90
The IEA (2010) forecasts an average annual market growth
rate of 17% in the next decade, leading to a global cumulative
installed PV power capacity of 200 GW by 2020 and 3000GW
by 2040. This would represent roughly 11 percent of global
energy demand.
PV has energy payback periods ranging from 2 to 5 years for
good to moderate locations and lifecycle GHG emissions are
from 30 to 70 gCO
2
e/kWh (IPCC, 2010) depending on panel
type, solar resource, manufacturing method and installation
size. This compares to emission factors for coal fired plants of
more than 900 gCO
2
e/kWh and for gas fired power stations of
more than 400 gCO
2
e/kWh.

91
SUMMARY
PV effect
Characteristics of solar cells
Applications of PV
Status of PV

Module C Solar Energy

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