Energy Systems PhotoVoltaic System

1) Solar cells directly convert sunlight into electricity through the photovoltaic effect in semiconductor materials like silicon. 2) Key factors in solar cell operation are the generation of electron-hole pairs when photons are absorbed, collection of the charges to generate current, and creation of voltage across the cell. 3) Matching the solar panel and inverter specifications, such as voltage ranges and power ratings, is important for an efficient solar electricity system.

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Energy Systems PhotoVoltaic System

Uploaded by

Mustafa Yılmaz

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Solar Electricity Conversion

Photovoltaics (PV) - grid-tied and off grid

PV produces electricity
works anywhere
no tracking required
electrochemical storage possible

PHOTOVOLTAIC
directly converts
sunlight into
electricity

Solar cell

Simple device which can

produce electricity when
exposed to sun

Studies related to solar cells :

1. Increasing the efficiency

2. Decreasing the cost
3. Increasing the lifetime

Photovoltaic energy conversion process requires

firstly, a material in which the absorption of light raises
an electron to a higher energy state,
secondly, the movement of this higher energy electron
from the solar cell into an external circuit.

A variety of materials and processes can potentially satisfy

the requirements but in practice nearly all photovoltaic
energy conversion uses semiconductor materials in the
form of a p-n junction.
p - n junction

Metal - insulator -semiconductor

Structural electrical
field

The basic steps in the operation of a solar cell are:

the generation of light-generated carriers;

the collection of the light-generated carries to generate a
current;
the generation of a large voltage across the solar cell;

Solar cell structure

n type doping

p type doping

The basic steps in the operation of a solar cell are:

the generation of light-generated carriers;
For photovoltaic devices, reflection and transmission are
typically considered loss mechanisms as photons which are
not absorbed do not generate power. If the photon is
absorbed it has the possibility of exciting an electron from
the valence band to the conduction band.
A key factor in determining if a photon is absorbed or
transmitted is the energy of the photon. Therefore, only if the
photon has enough energy will the electron be excited into
the conduction band from the valence band.

The basic steps in the operation of a solar cell are:

the generation of light-generated carriers;
Photons falling onto a semiconductor material can be divided
into three groups based on their energy compared to that of
the semiconductor band gap:
Eph < EG Photons with energy Eph less than the band gap
energy EG interact only weakly with the semiconductor,
passing through it as if it were transparent.
Eph = EG have just enough energy to create an electron hole
pair and are efficiently absorbed.
Eph > EG Photons with energy much greater than the band
gap are strongly absorbed. However, for photovoltaic
applications, the photon energy greater than the band gap is
wasted as electrons quickly thermalize back down to the
conduction band edges.

I-V KARAKTERST