1. Photovoltaic Systems Engineering
SEC598
Photovoltaic Systems Engineering
(SEC501 Solar Engineering and Commercialization, I)
Session 07
Solar Cells, part 3
September 07, 2017

2. Session 07 Components PV System Components Solar cell operation
Solar cell electrical characterization

3. Diode at thermal equilibrium

4. Diode with “forward bias”
Neudeck

5. Diode with “reverse bias”

6. Current and Voltage in the Solar Cell
nosleN

7. Current and Voltage in the Solar Cell, amended
Nelson

8. Equivalent circuit of the ideal solar cell
Nelson

9. The Solar Resource
Nelson

10. Photon Absorption (or Beer’s Law)
Nelson

11. Maximum efficiency in the Solar Cell
Nelson

12. Maximum efficiency, with common PV materials
Nelson

13. Light and Temperature effects in the Solar Cell
Nelson

14. Solar Energy Conversion
There is a relation between the current and the voltage of a solar cell:
Increasing
light
Nelson

15. Solar Energy Conversion
Comparison of current-voltage and power-voltage curves
Nelson

16. Solar Energy Conversion
The electrical power output from a single solar cell
is quite modest – insufficient for large scale applications
Increasing
light
Maximum
Power Points

17. Solar Energy Conversion – Fill Factor
Nelson

18. Resources
Jenny Nelson, The Physics of Solar Cells, Imperial College Press, 2003
Robert F. Pierret, Semiconductor Fundamentals, V.1., Modular Series on Solid State Devices, Addison-Wesley, 1988
Gerold W. Neudeck, The PN Junction Diode, V.2., Modular Series on Solid State Devices, Addison-Wesley, 1989