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Above
Below
silicons silicons
bandgap bandgap
Visible
UV
IR
In this activity, we will see how a silicon solar cell can be used to power a small
motor. We will look at how much of the chip needs to be illuminated in order to make
the motor work. We will also explore the concept of concentrator photovoltaics and
discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of such systems.
NOTE: This activity is best demonstrated outside using the actual sun, but if necessary it
can be done indoors using a bright lamp or spotlight as the sun. If this is done, make
sure to test it out ahead of time to make sure that the concepts you want to demonstrate
will work appropriately with the lamp you are using.
Safety: Do not look directly at the sun and do not burn things while using the lens with
the sunlight.
Equipment:
Solar cell w/ motor
You can do one of the following:
1. Buy silicon solar cell connected to motorcan be bought as a kit at Radio
Shack (and perhaps other places).
2. If inclined to do so, buy silicon solar cell, wire, and motor and put it together
yourself.
cardboard or other surface to attach the solar cell and motor to
lens
paper
Concentrator Photovoltaics
1. Cut a hole in a piece of paper just small enough that when it is over the solar cell the
sunlight hitting it directly will not cause the motor to spin (or cover part of the solar cell
with a piece of paper without a hole in it just enough that when it is pointed at the sun the
motor will not spin).
2. Hold a lens (that is well bigger than the exposed portion of the solar cell) in front of
the cell and aim both the solar cell and the lens directly at the sun. Hold the lens a
distance away from the solar cell that causes the focused light to slightly under fill the
exposed part of the cell without creating a sharp focused spot on the solar cell. (be
careful not to hold the lens in a position that causes the bright focus of the light to hit the
paper, your skin, grass, etc.it could cause things to burn and/or hurt). Notice that the
motor now spins.
3. Keeping the solar cell pointed directly at the sun, tilt the lens slightly away from the
sun. Notice that the focused light moves. Tilt the lens more so that the light is
completely off of the exposed portion of the solar cell (again, be careful not to create a
sharp focus on that will cause things to burn). Notice that the motor will stop moving at
some point as you tilt the lens.
4. Try to re-aim the lens so that the light falls onto the solar cell and the motor spins
again.
Application: Concentrator photovoltaic systems can be used to decrease the amount of
photovoltaic material used in a solar cell while still collecting a large amount of sunlight
and turning it into electricity. Some photovoltaic devices are more efficient than silicon
but are also much more expensive, causing flat-plate systems with these materials to not
be a viable option. By concentrating the light with optics, such as a lens, you can use less
of the photovoltaic material but still collect the same amount of light. This will decrease
the cost of the system. However, as was seen in the demonstration, if the lens is not
pointed at the sun the light will not hit the photovoltaic device. This means that to use a
concentrator photovoltaic system throughout the day, it needs to be built on a tracking
system that can move the solar cell to keep it pointed at the sun. This adds other costs
and complexity that does not exist with flat-plate silicon. There are both pros and cons to
using concentrator photovoltaic systems.
References
The following is a list of some online references for this document and resources about
solar energy. There are many others, as well, so look around and see what you can find.
http://www.sunwindsolar.com/
http://pvcdrom.pveducation.org/index.html
http://www.nrel.gov/