3D Solar Cells Abstract A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light directly into electricity by the

photovoltaic effect. Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used when the light source is unspecified. Assemblies of cells are used to make solar panels, solar modules, or photovoltaic arrays. Photovoltaics is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells in producing electricity for practical use. The energy generated this way is an example of solar energy (also called solar power). William Yuan, a 12 year-old from Beaverton, Oregon, has made an innovation in the 3D solar cells production that could provide 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than cutting-edge 3D solar cells. It may sound weird, but, at his age, he studied nanotechnology. Solar it seems underused, and there are only a few problems with it, said William, encouraged by his science teacher from Meadow Park Middle School. Regular solar cells are only 2D and only allow light interaction once, he also said. The 3D cell he invented can absorb both visible and UV light, a fact that scientists struggle to accomplish by complicated technologies. At first, he couldnt believe his calculations: This solar cell cant be generating this much electricity, it cant be absorbing this much extra light, he recalled thinking.

Introduction

Photovoltaic cells, as the word implies (photo = light, voltaic = electricity), convert sunlight directly into electricity. Once used almost exclusively in space, photovoltaics are used more and more in less exotic ways. They could even power your house, but they are more widely used for satellites and spacecrafts, and, for the moment, their efficiency could use some improvements.That's why a research sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research created a revolutionary system of 3D solar cells.The new 3D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature "tower" structures that resemble high-rise buildings in a city street grid.They trap light between their tower structures, which are about 100 microns tall, 40 microns by 40 microns square, 10 microns apart - and built from arrays containing millions of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes. Conventional flat solar cells reflect a significant portion of the light that strikes them, reducing the amount of energy they absorb.Because the tower structures can trap and absorb light received from many different angles, the new cells remain efficient even when the sun is not directly overhead. That could allow them to be used on spacecraft without the mechanical aiming systems that

maintain a constant orientation to the sun, reducing weight and complexity - and improving reliability.3D photovoltaic cells present multiple advantages: they absorb virtually all of the light that strikes them, their coatings can be made thinner, allowing the electrons to exit more quickly, thus increasing the rate at which absorbed photons are converted to electrons, as well as reduced size, weight and mechanical complexity."Our goal is to harvest every last photon that is available to our cells," said Jud Ready, a senior research engineer in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). "By capturing more of the light in our 3D structures, we can use much smaller photovoltaic arrays. On a satellite or other spacecraft, that would mean less weight and less space taken up with the PV system."However, there are still some technical issues, like their ability to survive launch and operation in space, and the fact that production techniques will have to scaled up from the current two-inch laboratory prototypes. But the cells could find near-term applications for powering spacecraft, and by enabling efficiency improvements in photovoltaic coating materials, could also change the way solar cells are

designed for a broad range of applications. History Of Solar Cells Main article: Timeline of solar cells The term "photovoltaic" comes from the Greek (phs) meaning "light", and "voltaic", meaning electric, from the name of the Italian physicist Volta, after whom a unit of electrical potential, the volt, is named. The term "photo-voltaic" has been in use in English since 1849. [1] The photovoltaic effect was first recognized in 1839 by French physicist A. E. Becquerel. However, it was not until 1883 that the first solar cell was built, by Charles Fritts, who coated the semiconductor selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the junctions. The device was only around 1% efficient. Sven Ason Berglund had a number of patents concerning methods of increasing the capacity of these cells. Russell Ohl patented the modern junction semiconductor solar cell in 1946 [2], which was discovered while working on the series of advances that would lead to the transistor. The modern age of solar power technology arrived in 1954 when Bell Laboratories, experimenting with semiconductors, accidentally found that silicon doped with certain impurities was very sensitive to light [citation needed].Daryl Chapin, with Bell Labs colleagues Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson, invented the first practical device for converting sunlight into useful electrical power. [3] This resulted in the production of the first practical solar cells with a sunlight energy conversion efficiency of around 6 percent.The solar battery was first demonstrated on April 25, 1954. The first spacecraft to use solar panels was the US satellite Vanguard 1, launched in March 1958 with solar cells made by Hoffman Electronics. This milestone created interest in producing and launching

a geostationary communications satellite, in which solar energy would provide a viable power supply. This was a crucial development which stimulated funding from several governments into research for improved solar cells. In 1970 the first highly effective GaAs heterostructure solar cells were created by Zhores Alferov and his team in the USSR.[4][5] Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD, or OMCVD) production equipment was not developed until the early 1980s, limiting the ability of companies to manufacture the GaAs solar cell. In the United States, the first 17% efficient air mass zero (AM0) single-junction GaAs solar cells were manufactured in production quantities in 1988 by Applied Solar Energy Corporation (ASEC). The "dual junction" cell was accidentally produced in quantity by ASEC in 1989 as a result of the change from GaAs on GaAs substrates to GaAs on Germanium (Ge) substrates. The accidental doping of Ge with the GaAs buffer layer created higher open circuit voltages, demonstrating the potential of using the Ge substrate as another cell. As GaAs single-junction cells topped 19% AM0 production efficiency in 1993, ASEC developed the first dual junction cells for spacecraft use in the United States, with a starting efficiency of approximately 20%. These cells did not utilize the Ge as a second cell, but used another GaAsbased cell with different doping. Eventually GaAs dual junction cells reached production efficiencies of about 22%. Triple Junction solar cells began with AM0 efficiencies of approximately 24% in 2000, 26% in 2002, 28% in 2005, and in 2007 have evolved to a 30% AM0 production efficiency, currently in qualification. Recent world record claims of efficiency for multiple junction solar cells are discussed in the Records section. [edit] Three generations of solar cells

Solar Cells are classified into three generations which indicates the order of which each became important. At present there is concurrent research into all three generations while the first generation technologies are most highly represented in commercial production, accounting for 89.6% of 2007 production.[6] [edit] First generation Main articles: Crystalline silicon and Vacuum deposition First generation cells consist of large-area, high quality and single junction devices. First Generation technologies involve high energy and labor inputs which prevent any significant progress in reducing production costs. Single junction silicon devices are approaching the theoretical limiting efficiency of 31%[7] and achieve an energy payback period of 57 years. [8] [edit] Second generation Main article: Thin-film cell Second generation materials have been developed to address energy

requirements and production costs of solar cells. Alternative manufacturing techniques such as vapour deposition, electroplating, and use of Ultrasonic Nozzles are advantageous as they reduce high temperature processing significantly. It is commonly accepted that as manufacturing techniques evolve production costs will be dominated by constituent material requirements, [7] whether this be a silicon substrate, or glass cover. The most successful second generation materials have been cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide, amorphous silicon and micromorphous silicon.[6] These materials are applied in a thin film to a supporting substrate such as glass or ceramics, reducing material mass and therefore costs. These

technologies do hold promise of higher conversion efficiencies, particularly CIGS-CIS, DSC and CdTe offers significantly cheaper production costs. Among major manufacturers there is certainly a trend toward second generation technologies, however commercialisation of these technologies has proven difficult.[9] In 2007 First Solar produced 200 MW of CdTe solar cells making it the fifth largest producer of solar cells in 2007 and the first ever to reach the top 10 from production of second generation technologies alone. [9] Wurth Solar commercialised its CIGS technology in 2007 producing 15 MW. Nanosolar commercialised its CIGS technology in 2007 with a production capacity of 430 MW for 2008 in the USA and Germany. [10]Honda, also began to commercialize their CIGS base solar panel in 2008. In 2007, CdTe production represented 8.9% of total market share, thin-film silicon 5.2% and CIGS 0.5%.[9] [edit] Third generation Main article: Third generation solar cell Third generation technologies aim to enhance poor electrical performance of second generation (thin-film technologies) while maintaining very low production costs. Current research is targeting conversion efficiencies of 30-60% while retaining low cost materials and manufacturing techniques. [7] They can exceed the theoretical solar conversion efficiency limit for a single energy threshold material, that was calculated in 1961 by Shockley and Queisser as 31% under 1 sun illumination and 40.8% under the maximal artificial concentration of sunlight (46,200 suns, which makes the latter limit more difficult to approach than the former).[11]

There are a few approaches to achieving these high efficiencies including the use of Multijunction photovoltaic cells, concentration of the incident spectrum, the use of thermal generation by UV light to enhance voltage or carrier collection, or the use of the infrared spectrum for night-time operation. [edit] High efficiency cells High efficiency solar cells are a class of solar cell that can generate more electricity per incident solar power unit (watt/watt). Much of the industry is focused on the most cost efficient technologies in terms of cost per generated power. The two main strategies to bring down the cost of photovoltaic electricity are increasing the efficiency (as many of the costs scale with the area occupied per unit of generated power), and decreasing the cost of the solar cells per generated unit of power. The latter approach might come at the expense of reduced efficiency, so the overall cost of the photovoltaic electricity does not necessarily decrease by decreasing the cost of the solar cells. The challenge of increasing the photovoltaic efficiency is thus of great interest, both from the academic and economic points of view. [edit] Record efficiencies [edit] Multiple junction solar cells The record for multiple junction solar cells is disputed. Teams led by the University of Delaware, the Fraunhofer Institute, and NREL all claim the world record title at 42.8, 41.1, and 40.8 percent, respectively. [12][13][14] NREL claims that the other implementations have not been put under standardized tests and, in the case of the University of Delaware project, represents only hypothetical efficiencies of a panel that has not been fully assembled. [15] NREL claims it is

one of only three laboratories in the world capable of conducting valid tests, although the Fraunhofer Institute is among those three facilities. [edit] Thin film solar cells In 2002, the highest reported efficiency for solar cells based on thin films of CdTe is 18%, which was achieved by research at Sheffield Hallam University, although this has not been confirmed by an external test laboratory [citation needed]. The US national renewable energy research facility NREL achieved an efficiency of 19.9% for the solar cells based on copper indium gallium selenide thin films, also known as CIGS. These CIGS films have been grown by physical vapour deposition in a three-stage co-evaporation process. In this process In, Ga and Se are evaporated in the first step; in the second step it is followed by Overview of 3D solar cells Unique three-dimensional solar cells that capture nearly all of the light that strikes them could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity.

The new 3D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature tower structures that resemble high-rise buildings in a city street grid. The cells could find near-term applications for powering spacecraft, efficiency and by enabling in

improvements

photovoltaic coating materials, could also change the way solar cells are designed for a broad range of applications.

Our goal is to harvest every last photon that is available to our cells, said Jud Ready, a senior research engineer in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). By capturing more of the light in our 3D structures, we can use much smaller photovoltaic arrays. On a satellite or other spacecraft, that would mean less weight and less space taken up with the PV system. The 3D design was described in the March 2007 issue of the journal JOM, published by The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. The research has been sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, NewCyte Inc., and Intellectual Property Partners, LLC. A global patent application has been filed for the technology.

View an animation of how the new 3d solar cell works

The GTRI photovoltaic cells trap light between their tower structures, which are about 100 microns tall, 40 microns by 40 microns square, 10 microns apart -and built from arrays containing millions of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes. Conventional flat solar cells reflect a significant portion of the light that strikes them, reducing the amount of energy they absorb.

Because the tower structures can trap and absorb light received from many different angles, the new cells remain efficient even when the sun is not directly overhead. That could allow them to be used on spacecraft without the mechanical aiming

systems that maintain a constant orientation to the sun, reducing weight and complexity and

improving reliability.

The efficiency of our cells increases as the sunlight goes away from perpendicular, so we may not need mechanical arrays to rotate our cells, Ready noted. The ability of the 3D cells to absorb virtually all of the light that strikes them could also enable improvements in the efficiency with which the cells convert the photons they absorb into electrical current. In conventional flat solar cells, the photovoltaic coatings must be thick enough to capture the photons, whose energy then liberates electrons from the photovoltaic materials to create electrical current. However, each mobile electron leaves behind a hole in the atomic matrix of the coating. The longer it takes electrons to exit the PV material, the more likely it is that they will recombine with a hole -- reducing the electrical current. Because the 3D cells absorb more of the photons than conventional cells, their coatings can be made thinner, allowing the electrons to exit more quickly, reducing the likelihood that recombination will take place. That boosts the quantum efficiency the rate at which absorbed photons are converted to electrons of the 3D cells.

Fabrication of the cells begins with a silicon wafer, which can also serve as the solar cells bottom junction. The researchers first coat the wafer with a thin layer of iron using a photolithography process that can create a wide variety of patterns. The patterned wafer is then placed into a furnace heated to 780 degrees Celsius. Hydrocarbon gases are then flowed into furnace, where the carbon and hydrogen separate. In a process known as chemical vapor deposition, the carbon grows arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes atop the iron patterns. Jud Ready, senior research

engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, holds a

sample of the 3D solar cells his research team has developed. Georgia Photo: Meek Tech Gary Download dpi version 300

Once the carbon nanotube towers have been grown, the researchers use a process known as molecular beam epitaxy to coat them with cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium sulfide (CdS) which serve as the p-type and n-type photovoltaic layers. Atop that, a thin coating of indium tin oxide, a clear conducting material, is added to serve as the cells top electrode. In the finished cells, the carbon nanotube arrays serve both as support for the 3D arrays and as a conductor connecting the photovoltaic materials to the silicon wafer.

The researchers chose to make their prototypes cells from the cadmium materials because they were familiar with them from other research. However, a broad range of other photovoltaic materials could also be used, and selecting the best material for specific applications will be a goal of future research. Ready also wants to study the optimal heights and spacing for the towers, and to determine the trade-offs between spacing and the angle at which the light hits the structures. The new cells face several hurdles before they can be commercially produced. Testing must verify their ability to survive launch and operation in space, for instance. And production techniques will have to scaled up from the current two-inch laboratory prototypes. We have demonstrated that we can extract electrons using this approach, Ready said. Now we need to get a good baseline to see where we compare to existing materials, how to optimize this and whats needed to advance this technology. Intellectual Property Partners of Atlanta holds the rights to the 3D solar cell design and is seeking partners to commercialize the technology. Another commercialization path is being followed by an Ohio company, NewCyte, which is partnering with GTRI to use the 3D approach for terrestrial solar cells. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research has awarded the company a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to develop the technology. NewCyte has patent pending, low cost technology for depositing semiconductor layers directly on individual fullerenes, explained Dennis J. Flood, NewCytes president and CTO. We are using our technology to grow the same

semiconductor layers on the carbon nanotube towers that GTRI has already demonstrated. Our goal is to achieve performance and cost levels that will make solar cells using the GTRI 3D cell structure competitive in the broader terrestrial solar cell market.

Nanocomposite of TiO2 and CuInS2: towards solid- state 3D solar cells

The major drawback of the present generation of photovoltaic solar cells is their laborious, energy consuming, and costly production. Therefore, a completely new approach is desired. With the advent of dye-sensitized (Grtzel-type) solar cells, C60/polymer, and hybrid nanocrystal / polymer bulk heterojunctions, challenging alternatives are offered, although serious

complications are still to be eliminated. A major concern in these alternatives is their poor stability if operating in full sunlight. The cells must be sealed rigorously to avoid reaction with oxygen and water. All-solid, completely inorganic, bulk heterojunctions do not require expensive sealing but have been pursued with limited success so far. Here, we report a new approach towards what is refered to as the 3D-solar cell concept (Fig.1). In this type of nanocomposite, a wide bandgap n-type semiconductig oxide and a p-type visible light sensitive semiconductor are mixed on a nanometer scale. This solar cell concept may open a new horizon in the manufacture of future photovoltaic devices. We employed Atomic-Layer Chemical Vapour Deposition (AL-CVD) for infiltration of CuInS2 inside the pores of nanostructured TiO2. First, a dense film of TiO2 (~100 nm) is applied onto TCO-glass (SnO 2:F). On top of this, a 2 thick nanoporous TiO2 film is applied with primary particles between 10 and 50 nm in diameter. Next, these substrates are infiltrated with CuInS 2 using ALD.

The process conditions are: 2 mbar reactor pressure, temperature between 350 and 500 C, and CuCl, InCl3, and H2S as precursors. The chemical composition of the cells is investigated with X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. CuInS 2 films have the chalcopyrite crystal structure with a minor fraction of the Cu-Au ordered structure. The fraction of the Cu-Au phase can be determined with Raman spectroscopy and is about 5% in volume. Cu-Au is associated with the presence of anti-site point defects. Photoluminescence has been used to determine the energy levels associated to these anti-site defects, being 0.07 eV for InCu and 0.15 eV for. The efficiency of CuInS// InCu2 (CIS) solar cells is determined by the presence of anti-site defects because they introduce energy levels in the band gap, which determine the conductivity type and the minority carrier lifetime. The electrical properties of nanostructured TiO 2/CuInS2 heterojunctions are investigated by studying Current-Voltage (IV), Time of Flight (TOF), Impedance Spectroscopy (IS), and Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) as a function of temperature. Preliminary results give us strong indications that these cells behave different in dark than dye-sensitised solar cells (Grtzeltype). The IV recorded in the dark shows space-charge limited current behaviour with an activation energy for the hole mobility of 150 meV, which is associated to holes trapped on the anti-site defect . The energy levels of electron and hole traps derived with IV, IS and DLTS techniques agree with those found in our previous photoluminescence study. TOF results indicate that drift rather than diffusion governs the charge transport. // InCu

Since alignment of the conduction bands is required an In 2S3 buffer layer must be applied. The solar cells show photovoltaic activity between 360 and 900 nm with a maximum monochromatic incident photon-to current conversion

efficiency of 80%. If AM1.5 irradiation is applied, the open-circuit voltage is 0.49 V, the short circuit current 18 mA cm -2, and the fill factor 0.44, which add up to an overall energy conversion efficiency of 4% (Fig.2). This is twice the performance of the best inorganic 3D solar cell reported so far.

Fig. 1 Structure of an inorganic 3D solar cell.

Fig 2. Current-voltage response of a 3D solar cell comprising a TiO 2 and CuInS2 nanocomposite. Black line: current in darkness; red line: current with AM 1.5 irradiation (A). The incident-photon to current conversion efficiency of this cell (B). 3D Solar Cells Make Trackers Obsolete A basic problem with solar panels is that they are almost always flat. In order to maintain maximum efficiency they have to be directly perpendicular to the sun. So, either we deal with sub-par efficiency through 95% of the day, or we build expensive motor-driven sun-trackers. Jud Ready, at the Georgia Tech Research Institute has come up with another solution. But building solar panels that are basically composed of millions of tiny photovoltaic skyscrapers on a conducting grid. Because the skyscrapers are oriented veritically with gaps between them, photons are readily absorbed and converted to electricity even when the hit the panel at an angle. This also makes the cells perfect for cloudy climates, when the amount of light is the same, but the clouds scatter the sunlight in lots of directions. The photovoltaic material being used in these 3D cells is currently cadmium, which is unfortunately toxic, and less efficient than some other materials, but

Ready says that many other light-active substances could be used in the panels. They aren't sure how much the can boost efficiency compared to current panels, but millions of tiny skyscrapers can't be all wrong. 3D solar cells will be cheap and flexible

Everything's going 3D these days - even solar cells. Researchers at the US Department of Energy and the University of California in Berkeley have found a new way to make efficient three-dimensional solar cells from low-cost and flexible materials. The new design grows optically active semiconductors in nanoscale pillars, just billionths of a metre tall. More room for more light Unlike a typical two-dimensional solar cell, a nanopillar array offers much more surface for collecting light. Computer simulations have indicated that, compared to flat surfaces, nanopillar semiconductor arrays should be more sensitive to light and more efficient at converting it into electricity. "Unfortunately, early attempts to make photovoltaic cells based on pillar-shaped semiconductors yielded disappointing results. Light-to-electricity efficiencies were less than two per cent," says Berkeley professor Ali Javey.

Javey's new method, called the 'vapor-liquid-solid' process, makes large-scale modules of dense, highly ordered arrays of single-crystal nanopillars, which already have an efficiency of six percent. Still not as good as conventional PV While this is less than the 10 to 18 per cent range of mass-produced commercial cells, it is higher than most photovoltaic devices based on nanostructured materials - and should improve with more research. In addition, the new nanopillars can easily be incorporated into flexible materials to make bendable solar cells. "There are lots of ways to improve 3D nanopillar photovoltaics for higher performance, and ways to simplify the fabrication process as well, but the method is already hugely promising as a way to lower the cost of efficient solar cells," says Javey.

Applications and implementations

Polycrystaline PV cells laminated to backing material in a PV module

Polycrystalline PV cells Main article: photovoltaic array

Solar cells are often electrically connected and encapsulated as a module. PV modules often have a sheet of glass on the front (sun up) side, allowing light to pass while protecting the semiconductor wafers from the elements (rain, hail, etc.). Solar cells are also usually connected in series in modules, creating an additive voltage. Connecting cells in parallel will yield a higher current. Modules are then interconnected, in series or parallel, or both, to create an array with the desired peak DC voltage and current. The power output of a solar array is measured in watts or kilowatts. In order to calculate the typical energy needs of the application, a measurement in watthours, kilowatt-hours or kilowatt-hours per day is often used. A common rule of thumb is that average power is equal to 20% of peak power, so that each peak kilowatt of solar array output power corresponds to energy production of 4.8 kWh per day (24 hours x 1kW x 20% = 4.8 kWh) To make practical use of the solar-generated energy, the electricity is most often fed into the electricity grid using inverters (grid-connected PV systems); in stand alone systems, batteries are used to store the energy that is not needed immediately. Solar cells can also be applied to other electronics devices to make it self power sustainable in the sun. There are solar cell phone chargers, solar bike light and solar camping lanterns that people can adopt for daily use. [edit] Theory See also: Electromotive force#Solar cell

[edit] Simple explanation 1. Photons in sunlight hit the solar panel and are absorbed by

semiconducting materials, such as silicon. 2. Electrons (negatively charged) are knocked loose from their atoms, allowing them to flow through the material to produce electricity. Due to the special composition of solar cells, the electrons are only allowed to move in a single direction. The complementary positive charges that are also created (like bubbles) are called holes and flow in the direction opposite of the electrons in a silicon solar panel. 3. An array of solar cells converts solar energy into a usable amount of direct current (DC) electricity. [edit] Photogeneration of charge carriers When a photon hits a piece of silicon, one of three things can happen: 1. the photon can pass straight through the silicon this (generally) happens for lower energy photons, 2. the photon can reflect off the surface, 3. the photon can be absorbed by the silicon, if the photon energy is higher than the silicon band gap value. This generates an electron-hole pair and sometimes heat, depending on the band structure. When a photon is absorbed, its energy is given to an electron in the crystal lattice. Usually this electron is in the valence band, and is tightly bound in covalent bonds between neighboring atoms, and hence unable to move far. The energy given to it by the photon "excites" it into the conduction band, where it is free to move around within the semiconductor. The covalent bond that the electron was previously a part of now has one fewer electron this is known as

a hole. The presence of a missing covalent bond allows the bonded electrons of neighboring atoms to move into the "hole," leaving another hole behind, and in this way a hole can move through the lattice. Thus, it can be said that photons absorbed in the semiconductor create mobile electron-hole pairs. A photon need only have greater energy than that of the band gap in order to excite an electron from the valence band into the conduction band. However, the solar frequency spectrum approximates a black body spectrum at ~6000 K, and as such, much of the solar radiation reaching the Earth is composed of photons with energies greater than the band gap of silicon. These higher energy photons will be absorbed by the solar cell, but the difference in energy between these photons and the silicon band gap is converted into heat (via lattice vibrations called phonons) rather than into usable electrical energy. [edit] Charge carrier separation There are two main modes for charge carrier separation in a solar cell: 1. drift of carriers, driven by an electrostatic field established across the device 2. diffusion of carriers from zones of high carrier concentration to zones of low carrier concentration (following a gradient of electrochemical potential). In the widely used p-n junction solar cells, the dominant mode of charge carrier separation is by drift. However, in non-p-n-junction solar cells (typical of the third generation solar cell research such as dye and polymer solar cells), a general electrostatic field has been confirmed to be absent, and the dominant mode of separation is via charge carrier diffusion.[16]

[edit] The p-n junction Main articles: semiconductor and p-n junction The most commonly known solar cell is configured as a large-area p-n junction made from silicon. As a simplification, one can imagine bringing a layer of n-type silicon into direct contact with a layer of p-type silicon. In practice, p-n junctions of silicon solar cells are not made in this way, but rather, by diffusing an n-type dopant into one side of a p-type wafer (or vice versa). If a piece of p-type silicon is placed in intimate contact with a piece of n-type silicon, then a diffusion of electrons occurs from the region of high electron concentration (the n-type side of the junction) into the region of low electron concentration (p-type side of the junction). When the electrons diffuse across the p-n junction, they recombine with holes on the p-type side. The diffusion of carriers does not happen indefinitely however, because of an electric field which is created by the imbalance of charge immediately on either side of the junction which this diffusion creates. The electric field established across the p-n junction creates a diode that promotes charge flow, known as drift current, that opposes and eventually balances out the diffusion of electron and holes. This region where electrons and holes have diffused across the junction is called the depletion region because it no longer contains any mobile charge carriers. It is also known as the "space charge region". [edit] Connection to an external load Ohmic metal-semiconductor contacts are made to both the n-type and p-type sides of the solar cell, and the electrodes connected to an external load. Electrons that are created on the n-type side, or have been "collected" by the junction and swept onto the n-type side, may travel through the wire, power the

load, and continue through the wire until they reach the p-type semiconductormetal contact. Here, they recombine with a hole that was either created as an electron-hole pair on the p-type side of the solar cell, or are swept across the junction from the n-type side after being created there. The voltage measured is equal to the difference in the quasi Fermi levels of the minority carriers ie. electrons in the p-type portion, and holes in the n-type portion. [edit] Equivalent circuit of a solar cell

The equivalent circuit of a solar cell

The schematic symbol of a solar cell To understand the electronic behavior of a solar cell, it is useful to create a model which is electrically equivalent, and is based on discrete electrical components whose behavior is well known. An ideal solar cell may be modelled by a current source in parallel with a diode; in practice no solar cell is ideal, so a shunt resistance and a series resistance component are added to the model. [17] The resulting equivalent circuit of a solar cell is shown on the left. Also shown, on the right, is the schematic representation of a solar cell for use in circuit diagrams.

[edit] Characteristic equation From the equivalent circuit it is evident that the current produced by the solar cell is equal to that produced by the current source, minus that which flows through the diode, minus that which flows through the shunt resistor: [18][19]

I = IL ID ISH
where

I = output current (amperes) IL = photogenerated current (amperes) ID = diode current (amperes) ISH = shunt current (amperes)

The current through these elements is governed by the voltage across them:

Vj = V + IRS
where

Vj = voltage across both diode and resistor RSH (volts) V = voltage across the output terminals (volts) I = output current (amperes) RS = series resistance ()

By the Shockley diode equation, the current diverted through the diode is:

[20]

where

I0 = reverse saturation current (amperes) n = diode ideality factor (1 for an ideal diode) q = elementary charge k = Boltzmann's constant T = absolute temperature
For silicon at 25C, volts.

By Ohm's law, the current diverted through the shunt resistor is:

where

RSH = shunt resistance ()

Substituting these into the first equation produces the characteristic equation of a solar cell, which relates solar cell parameters to the output current and voltage:

An alternative derivation produces an equation similar in appearance, but with V on the left-hand side. The two alternatives are identities; that is, they yield precisely the same results.

In principle, given a particular operating voltage V the equation may be solved to determine the operating current I at that voltage. However, because the equation involves I on both sides in a transcendental function the equation has no general analytical solution. However, even without a solution it is physically instructive. Furthermore, it is easily solved using numerical methods. (A general analytical solution to the equation is possible using Lambert's W function, but since Lambert's W generally itself must be solved numerically this is a technicality.) Since the parameters I0, n, RS, and RSH cannot be measured directly, the most common application of the characteristic equation is nonlinear regression to extract the values of these parameters on the basis of their combined effect on solar cell behavior.

[edit] Open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current

When the cell is operated at open circuit, I = 0 and the voltage across the output terminals is defined as the open-circuit voltage. Assuming the shunt resistance is high enough to neglect the final term of the characteristic equation, the open-circuit voltage VOC is:

Similarly, when the cell is operated at short circuit, V = 0 and the current I through the terminals is defined as the short-circuit current. It can be shown that for a high-quality solar cell (low RS and I0, and high RSH) the short-circuit current ISC is:

[edit] Effect of physical size

The values of I0, RS, and RSH are dependent upon the physical size of the solar cell. In comparing otherwise identical cells, a cell with twice the surface area of another will, in principle, have double the I0 because it has twice the junction area across which current can leak. It will also have half the RS and RSH because it has twice the cross-sectional area through which current can flow. For this reason, the characteristic equation is frequently written in terms of current density, or current produced per unit cell area:

where

J = current density (amperes/cm2) JL = photogenerated current density (amperes/cm 2) Jo= reverse saturation current density (amperes/cm 2) rS = specific series resistance (-cm2) rSH = specific shunt resistance (-cm2)

This formulation has several advantages. One is that since cell characteristics are referenced to a common cross-sectional area they may be compared for cells of different physical dimensions. While this is of limited benefit in a manufacturing setting, where all cells tend to be the same size, it is useful in research and in comparing cells between manufacturers. Another advantage is that the density equation naturally scales the parameter values to similar orders of magnitude, which can make numerical extraction of them simpler and more accurate even with naive solution methods.

A practical limitation of this formulation is that as cell sizes shrink, certain parasitic effects grow in importance and can affect the extracted parameter values. For example, recombination and contamination of the junction tend to be greatest at the perimeter of the cell, so very small cells may exhibit higher values of J0 or lower values of rSH than larger cells that are otherwise identical. In such cases, comparisons between cells must be made cautiously and with these effects in mind.

[edit] Cell temperature

Effect of temperature on the current-voltage characteristics of a solar cell Temperature affects the characteristic equation in two ways: directly, via T in the exponential term, and indirectly via its effect on I0. (Strictly speaking, temperature affects all of the terms, but these two far more significantly than the others.) While increasing T reduces the magnitude of the exponent in the characteristic equation, the value of I0 increases in proportion to exp(T). The net effect is to reduce VOC (the open-circuit Voltage) linearly with increasing temperature. The magnitude of this reduction is inversely proportional to VOC; that is, cells with higher values of VOC suffer smaller reductions in voltage with increasing temperature. For most crystalline silicon solar cells the reduction is about 0.50%/C, though the rate for the highest-efficiency crystalline silicon

cells is around 0.35%/C. By way of comparison, the rate for amorphous silicon solar cells is 0.20-0.30%/C, depending on how the cell is made. The amount of photogenerated current IL increases slightly with increasing temperature because of an increase in the number of thermally generated carriers in the cell. This effect is slight, however: about 0.065%/C for crystalline silicon cells and 0.09% for amorphous silicon cells. The overall effect of temperature on cell efficiency can be computed using these factors in combination with the characteristic equation. However, since the change in voltage is much stronger than the change in current, the overall effect on efficiency tends to be similar to that on voltage. Most crystalline silicon solar cells decline in efficiency by 0.50%/C and most amorphous cells decline by 0.15-0.25%/C. The figure to the right shows I-V curves that might typically be seen for a crystalline silicon solar cell at various temperatures.

[edit] Series resistance

Effect of series resistance on the current-voltage characteristics of a solar cell

As series resistance increases, the voltage drop between the junction voltage and the terminal voltage becomes greater for the same flow of current. The result is that the current-controlled portion of the I-V curve begins to sag toward the origin, producing a significant decrease in the terminal voltage V and a slight reduction in ISC, the short-circuit current. Very high values of RS will also produce a significant reduction in ISC; in these regimes, series resistance dominates and the behavior of the solar cell resembles that of a resistor. These effects are shown for crystalline silicon solar cells in the I-V curves displayed in the figure to the right.

[edit] Shunt resistance

Effect of shunt resistance on the currentvoltage characteristics of a solar cell As shunt resistance decreases, the current diverted through the shunt resistor increases for a given level of junction voltage. The result is that the voltagecontrolled portion of the I-V curve begins to sag toward the origin, producing a significant decrease in the terminal current I and a slight reduction in VOC. Very low values of RSH will produce a significant reduction in VOC. Much as in the case of a high series resistance, a badly shunted solar cell will take on operating characteristics similar to those of a resistor. These effects are shown for crystalline silicon solar cells in the I-V curves displayed in the figure to the

right.

[edit] Reverse saturation current

Effect of reverse saturation current on the current-voltage characteristics of a solar cell If one assumes infinite shunt resistance, the characteristic equation can be solved for VOC:

Thus, an increase in I0 produces a reduction in VOC proportional to the inverse of the logarithm of the increase. This explains mathematically the reason for the reduction in VOC that accompanies increases in temperature described above. The effect of reverse saturation current on the I-V curve of a crystalline silicon solar cell are shown in the figure to the right. Physically, reverse saturation current is a measure of the "leakage" of carriers across the p-n junction in reverse bias. This leakage is a result of carrier recombination in the neutral regions on either side of the junction.

[edit] Ideality factor

Effect of ideality factor on the current-voltage characteristics of a solar cell The ideality factor (also called the emissivity factor) is a fitting parameter that describes how closely the diode's behavior matches that predicted by theory, which assumes the p-n junction of the diode is an infinite plane and no recombination occurs within the space-charge region. A perfect match to theory is indicated when n = 1. When recombination in the space-charge region dominate other recombination, however, n = 2. The effect of changing ideality factor independently of all other parameters is shown for a crystalline silicon solar cell in the I-V curves displayed in the figure to the right. Most solar cells, which are quite large compared to conventional diodes, well approximate an infinite plane and will usually exhibit near-ideal behavior under Standard Test Condition ( ). Under certain operating conditions, however,

device operation may be dominated by recombination in the space-charge region. This is characterized by a significant increase in I0 as well as an increase in ideality factor to . The latter tends to increase solar cell output voltage

while the former acts to erode it. The net effect, therefore, is a combination of the increase in voltage shown for increasing n in the figure to the right and the decrease in voltage shown for increasing I0 in the figure above. Typically, I0

is the more significant factor and the result is a reduction in voltage.

[edit] Solar cell efficiency factors [edit] Energy conversion efficiency Main article: Energy conversion efficiency

Dust often accumulates on the glass of solar panels seen here as black dots. A solar cell's energy conversion efficiency (, "eta"), is the percentage of power converted (from absorbed light to electrical energy) and collected, when a solar cell is connected to an electrical circuit. This term is calculated using the ratio of the maximum power point, Pm, divided by the input light irradiance (E, in W/m2) under standard test conditions (STC) and the surface area of the solar cell (Ac in m2).

STC specifies a temperature of 25C and an irradiance of 1000 W/m 2 with an air mass 1.5 (AM1.5) spectrum. These correspond to the irradiance and spectrum of sunlight incident on a clear day upon a sun-facing 37-tilted surface with the sun at an angle of 41.81 above the horizon. [21][22] This condition approximately represents solar noon near the spring and autumn equinoxes in the continental United States with surface of the cell aimed directly at the sun. Thus, under these conditions a solar cell of 12% efficiency with a 100 cm2 (0.01 m2) surface area can be expected to produce approximately 1.2 watts of power.

The losses of a solar cell may be broken down into reflectance losses, thermodynamic efficiency, recombination losses and resistive electrical loss. The overall efficiency is the product of each of these individual losses. Due to the difficulty in measuring these parameters directly, other parameters are measured instead: Thermodynamic Efficiency, Quantum Efficiency, V OC ratio, and Fill Factor. Reflectance losses are a portion of the Quantum Efficiency under "External Quantum Efficiency". Recombination losses make up a portion of the Quantum Efficiency, V OC ratio, and Fill Factor. Resistive losses are predominantly categorized under Fill Factor, but also make up minor portions of the Quantum Efficiency, VOC ratio.
[23]

[edit] Thermodynamic Efficiency Limit Solar cells operate as quantum energy conversion devices, and are therefore subject to the "Thermodynamic Efficiency Limit". Photons with an energy below the band gap of the absorber material cannot generate a hole-electron pair, and so their energy is not converted to useful output and only generates heat if absorbed. For photons with an energy above the band gap energy, only a fraction of the energy above the band gap can be converted to useful output. When a photon of greater energy is absorbed, the excess energy above the band gap is converted to kinetic energy of the carrier combination. The excess kinetic energy is converted to heat through phonon interactions as the kinetic energy of the carriers slows to equilibrium velocity. Solar cells with multiple band gap absorber materials are able to more efficiently convert the solar spectrum. By using multiple band gaps, the solar

spectrum may be broken down into smaller bins where the thermodynamic efficiency limit is higher for each bin.[24] [edit] Quantum efficiency Main article: Quantum efficiency of a solar cell As described above, when a photon is absorbed by a solar cell it can produce a pair of free charge carriers, i.e. an electron-hole pair. One of the carriers (the minority carrier) may then be able to reach the p-n junction and contribute to the current produced by the solar cell; such a carrier is said to be collected. Alternatively, the carrier may give up its energy and once again become bound to an atom within the solar cell without being collected; this process is then called recombination since one electron and one hole recombine and thereby annihilate the associated free charge. The carriers that recombine do not

contribute to the generation of electrical current. Quantum efficiency refers to the percentage of photons that are converted to
electric current (i.e., collected carriers) when the cell is operated under short circuit conditions. External quantum efficiency (EQE) is the fraction of incident photons that are converted to electrical current, while internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is the fraction of absorbed photons that are converted to electrical current. Mathematically, internal quantum efficiency is related to external quantum efficiency by the reflectance (R) and the transmittance (T) of the solar cell by IQE = EQE / (1 R T). Please note that for a thick bulk Si solar cell T is approximately zero and is therefore in practical cases often neglected. Quantum efficiency should not be confused with energy conversion efficiency, as it does not convey information about the fraction of power that is converted

by the solar cell. Furthermore, quantum efficiency is most usefully expressed as a spectral measurement (that is, as a function of photon wavelength or energy). Since some wavelengths are absorbed more effectively than others in most semiconductors, spectral measurements of quantum efficiency can yield valuable information about the quality of the semiconductor bulk and surfaces. [edit] Maximum-power point A solar cell may operate over a wide range of voltages (V) and currents (I). By increasing the resistive load on an irradiated cell continuously from zero (a

short circuit) to a very high value (an open circuit) one can determine the
maximum-power point, the point that maximizes VI; that is, the load for which the cell can deliver maximum electrical power at that level of irradiation. (The output power is zero in both the short circuit and open circuit extremes). A high quality, monocrystalline silicon solar cell, at 25 C cell temperature, may produce 0.60 volts open-circuit (Voc). The cell temperature in full sunlight, even with 25 C air temperature, will probably be close to 45 C, reducing the opencircuit voltage to 0.55 volts per cell. The voltage drops modestly, with this type of cell, until the short-circuit current is approached (Isc). Maximum power (with 45 C cell temperature) is typically produced with 75% to 80% of the opencircuit voltage (0.43 volts in this case) and 90% of the short-circuit current. This output can be up to 70% of the Voc x Isc product. The short-circuit current (Isc) from a cell is nearly proportional to the illumination, while the open-circuit voltage (Voc) may drop only 10% with a 80% drop in illumination. Lower-quality cells have a more rapid drop in voltage with increasing current and could produce only 1/2 Voc at 1/2 Isc. The usable power output could thus drop from 70% of the Voc x Isc product to 50% or even as little as 25%. Vendors

who rate their solar cell "power" only as Voc x Isc, without giving load curves, can be seriously distorting their actual performance. The maximum power point of a photovoltaic varies with incident illumination. For systems large enough to justify the extra expense, a maximum power point tracker tracks the instantaneous power by continually measuring the voltage and current (and hence, power transfer), and uses this information to dynamically adjust the load so the maximum power is always transferred, regardless of the variation in lighting. [edit] Fill factor Another defining term in the overall behavior of a solar cell is the fill factor (FF). This is the ratio of the maximum power point divided by the open circuit

voltage (Voc) and the short circuit current (Isc):

The fill factor is directly affected by the values of the cells series and shunt resistance. Increasing the shunt resistance (Rsh) and decreasing the series resistance (Rs) will lead to higher fill factor, thus resulting in greater efficiency, and pushing the cells output power closer towards its theoretical maximum[25] [edit] Comparison of energy conversion efficiencies Main article: Photovoltaics At this point, discussion of the different ways to calculate efficiency for space cells and terrestrial cells is necessary to alleviate confusion. In space, where there is no atmosphere, the spectrum of the sun is relatively unfiltered.

However, on earth, with air filtering the incoming light, the solar spectrum changes. To account for the spectral differences, a system was devised to calculate this filtering effect. Simply, the filtering effect ranges from Air Mass 0 (AM0) in space, to approximately Air Mass 1.5 on earth. Multiplying the spectral differences by the quantum efficiency of the solar cell in question will yield the efficiency of the device. For example, a Silicon solar cell in space might have an efficiency of 14% at AM0, but have an efficiency of 16% on earth at AM 1.5. Terrestrial efficiencies typically are greater than space efficiencies. Solar cell efficiencies vary from 6% for amorphous silicon-based solar cells to 40.7% with multiple-junction research lab cells and 42.8% with multiple dies assembled into a hybrid package.[26] Solar cell energy conversion efficiencies for commercially available multicrystalline Si solar cells are around 14-19%.[27] The highest efficiency cells have not always been the most economical for example a 30% efficient multijunction cell based on exotic materials such as gallium arsenide or indium selenide and produced in low volume might well cost one hundred times as much as an 8% efficient amorphous silicon cell in mass production, while only delivering about four times the electrical power. However, there is a way to "boost" solar power. By increasing the light intensity, typically photogenerated carriers are increased, resulting in increased efficiency by up to 15%. These so-called "concentrator systems" have only begun to become cost-competitive as a result of the development of high efficiency GaAs cells. The increase in intensity is typically accomplished by using concentrating optics. A typical concentrator system may use a light intensity 6-400 times the sun, and increase the efficiency of a one sun GaAs cell from 31% at AM 1.5 to 35%. See Solar_cell#Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) below and Concentrating solar power (CSP).

A common method used to express economic costs of electricity-generating systems is to calculate a price per delivered kilowatt-hour (kWh). The solar cell efficiency in combination with the available irradiation has a major influence on the costs, but generally speaking the overall system efficiency is important. Using the commercially available solar cells (as of 2006) and system technology leads to system efficiencies between 5 and 19%. As of 2005, photovoltaic electricity generation costs ranged from ~0.60 US$/kWh (0.50 /kWh) (central Europe) down to ~0.30 US$/kWh (0.25 /kWh) in regions of high solar irradiation. This electricity is generally fed into the electrical grid on the customer's side of the meter. The cost can be compared to prevailing retail electric pricing (as of 2005), which varied from between 0.04 and 0.50 US$/kWh worldwide. (Note: in addition to solar irradiance profiles, these costs/kwh calculations will vary depending on assumptions for years of useful life of a system. Most c-Si panels are warranted for 25 years and should see 35+ years of useful life.) The chart at the right illustrates the various commercial large-area module energy conversion efficiencies and the best laboratory efficiencies obtained for various materials and technologies.

Reported timeline of solar cell energy conversion efficiencies (from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA)

[edit] Watts peak Main article: Watt-peak Since solar cell output power depends on multiple factors, such as the sun's incidence angle, for comparison purposes between different cells and panels, the measure of watts peak (Wp) is used. It is the output power under these conditions known as STC. The standard test conditions imply an insolation (solar irradiance) of 1000 W/m2, a solar reference spectrum AM (airmass) of 1.5 and a cell temperature 25C [edit] Solar cells and energy payback Further information: Low-cost photovoltaic cell In the 1990s, when silicon cells were twice as thick, efficiencies were much lower than today and lifetimes were shorter, it may well have cost more energy to make a cell than it could generate in a lifetime. In the meantime, the technology has progressed significantly, and the energy payback time, defined as the recovery time required for generating the energy spent for manufacturing of the respective technical energy systems, of a modern photovoltaic module is typically from 1 to 4 years [8][28] depending on the module type and location. Generally, thin film technologies despite having

comparatively low conversion efficiencies - achieve significantly shorter energy payback times than conventional systems (often < 1 year). [29] With a typical lifetime of 20 to 30 years, this means that modern solar cells are net energy producers, i.e. they generate significantly more energy over their lifetime than the energy expended in producing them.[8][30][31] [edit] Light-absorbing materials Main article: Absorption (electromagnetic radiation)

All solar cells require a light absorbing material contained within the cell structure to absorb photons and generate electrons via the photovoltaic effect. The materials used in solar cells tend to have the property of preferentially absorbing the wavelengths of solar light that reach the earth surface; however, some solar cells are optimized for light absorption beyond Earth's atmosphere as well. Light absorbing materials can often be used in multiple physical

configurations to take advantage of different light absorption and charge

separation mechanisms. Photovoltaic panels are normally made of either silicon or thin-film cells: Many currently available solar cells are configured as bulk materials that are subsequently cut into wafers and treated in a "top-down" method of synthesis (silicon being the most prevalent bulk material). Other materials are configured as thin-films (inorganic layers, organic dyes, and organic polymers) that are deposited on supporting substrates, while a third group are configured as nanocrystals and used as quantum dots (electronconfined nanoparticles) embedded in a supporting matrix in a "bottom-up" approach. Silicon remains the only material that is well-researched in both bulk (also called wafer-based) and thin-film configurations.

[edit] Bulk These bulk technologies are often referred to as wafer-based manufacturing. In other words, in each of these approaches, self-supporting wafers between 180 to 240 micrometers thick are processed and then soldered together to form a solar cell module.

[edit] Crystalline silicon Main articles: Crystalline silicon, Silicon, and list of silicon producers

Basic structure of a silicon based solar cell and its working mechanism. By far, the most prevalent bulk material for solar cells is crystalline silicon (abbreviated as a group as c-Si), also known as "solar grade silicon". Bulk silicon is separated into multiple categories according to crystallinity and crystal size in the resulting ingot, ribbon, or wafer. 1. monocrystalline silicon (c-Si): often made using the Czochralski process. Single-crystal wafer cells tend to be expensive, and because they are cut from cylindrical ingots, do not completely cover a square solar cell module without a substantial waste of refined silicon. Hence most c-Si panels have uncovered gaps at the four corners of the cells.

Ribbon silicon[32] is a type of monocrystalline silicon: it is formed by

drawing flat thin films from molten silicon and having a multicrystalline structure. These cells have lower efficiencies than poly-Si, but save on production costs due to a great reduction in silicon waste, as this approach does not require sawing from ingots. 2. Poly- or multicrystalline silicon (poly-Si or mc-Si): made from cast square ingots large blocks of molten silicon carefully cooled and solidified. Poly-Si cells are less expensive to produce than single crystal silicon cells, but are less efficient. US DOE data shows that there were a higher number of multicrystalline sales than monocrystalline silicon sales. [edit] Thin films Main article: Thin film

The various thin-film technologies currently being developed reduce the amount (or mass) of light absorbing material required in creating a solar cell. This can lead to reduced processing costs from that of bulk materials (in the case of silicon thin films) but also tends to reduce energy conversion efficiency (an average 7 to 10% efficiency), although many multi-layer thin films have efficiencies above those of bulk silicon wafers. They have become popular compared to wafer silicon due to lower costs and advantages including flexibility, lighter weights, and ease of integration. [edit] Cadmium telluride solar cell Main article: Cadmium telluride photovoltaics A cadmium telluride solar cell is a solar cell based on cadmium telluride, an efficient light-absorbing material for thin-film cells. Compared to other thinfilm materials, CdTe is easier to deposit and more suitable for large-scale production. There has been much discussion of the toxicity of CdTe-based solar cells. The perception of the toxicity of CdTe is based on the toxicity of elemental cadmium, a heavy metal that is a cumulative poison. While the toxicity of CdTe is presently under debate, it has been shown that the release of cadmium to the atmosphere is impossible during normal operation of the cells and is unlikely during res in residential roofs. [33] Furthermore, a square meter of CdTe contains approximately the same amount of Cd as a single C cell Nickel-cadmium battery, in a more stable and less soluble form.[34] [edit] Copper-Indium Selenide Main article: Copper indium gallium selenide solar cell

Possible combinations of (I, III, VI) elements in the periodic table that have photovoltaic effect The materials based on CuInSe 2 that are of interest for photovoltaic applications include several elements from groups I, III and VI in the periodic table. These semiconductors are especially attractive for thin film solar cell application because of their high optical absorption coefficients and versatile optical and electrical characteristics which can in principle be manipulated and tuned for a specific need in a given device. CIS is an abbreviation for general chalcopyrite films of copper indium selenide (CuInSe2), CIGS mentioned below is a variation of CIS. CIS films (no Ga) achieved greater than 14% efficiency. However, manufacturing costs of CIS solar cells at present are high when compared with amorphous silicon solar cells but continuing work is leading to more cost-effective production processes. The first large-scale production of CIS modules was started in 2006 in Germany by Wuerth Solar. Manufacturing techniques vary and include the use of Ultrasonic Nozzles for material deposition. Electro-Plating in other efficient technology to apply the CI(G)S layer. When gallium is substituted for some of the indium in CIS, the material is referred to as CIGS, or copper indium/gallium diselenide, a solid mixture of the semiconductors CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2, often abbreviated by the chemical formula CuInxGa(1-x)Se2. Unlike the conventional silicon based solar cell, which can be modelled as a simple p-n junction (see under semiconductor), these cells are best described by a more complex heterojunction model. The best efficiency of

a thin-film solar cell as of March 2008 was 19.9% with CIGS absorber layer. [35] Higher efficiencies (around 30%) can be obtained by using optics to concentrate the incident light or by using multi-junction tandem solar cells. The use of gallium increases the optical bandgap of the CIGS layer as compared to pure CIS, thus increasing the open-circuit voltage, but decreasing the short circuit current. In another point of view, gallium is added to replace indium due to gallium's relative availability to indium. Approximately 70% [36] of indium currently produced is used by the flat-screen monitor industry. However, the atomic ratio for Ga in the >19% efficient CIGS solar cells is ~7%, which corresponds to a bandgap of ~1.15 eV. CIGS solar cells with higher Ga amounts have lower efficiency. For example, CGS solar cells (which have a bandgap of ~1.7eV have a record efficiency of 9.5% for pure CGS and 10.2% for surfacemodified CGS. Some investors in solar technology worry that production of CIGS cells will be limited by the availability of indium. Producing 2 GW of CIGS cells (roughly the amount of silicon cells produced in 2006) would use about 10% of the indium produced in 2004. [37] For comparison, silicon solar cells used up 33% of the world's electronic grade silicon production in 2006. Se allows for better uniformity across the layer and so the number of recombination sites in the film are reduced which benefits the quantum efficiency and thus the conversion efficiency. [citation needed] [edit] Gallium arsenide (GaAs) multijunction Main article: Multijunction photovoltaic cell High-efficiency multijunction cells were originally developed for special applications such as satellites and space exploration, but at present, their use in terrestrial concentrators might be the lowest cost alternative in terms of $/kWh and $/W.[38] These multijunction cells consist of multiple thin films

produced using Metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. A triple-junction cell, for example, may consist of the semiconductors: GaAs, Ge, and GaInP2.[39] Each type of semiconductor will have a characteristic band gap energy which, loosely speaking, causes it to absorb light most efficiently at a certain color, or more precisely, to absorb electromagnetic radiation over a portion of the spectrum. The semiconductors are carefully chosen to absorb nearly all of the solar spectrum, thus generating electricity from as much of the solar energy as possible. GaAs based multijunction devices are the most efficient solar cells to date, reaching a record high of 40.7% efficiency under solar concentration and laboratory conditions.[40] This technology is currently being utilized in the Mars rover missions. Tandem solar cells based on monolithic, series connected, gallium indium phosphide (GaInP), gallium arsenide GaAs, and germanium Ge pn junctions, are seeing demand rapidly rise. In just the past 12 months (12/2006 - 12/2007), the cost of 4N gallium metal has risen from about $350 per kg to $680 per kg. Additionally, germanium metal prices have risen substantially to $1000$1200 per kg this year. Those materials include gallium (4N, 6N and 7N Ga), arsenic (4N, 6N and 7N) and germanium, pyrolitic boron nitride (pBN) crucibles for growing crystals, and boron oxide, these products are critical to the entire substrate manufacturing industry. Triple-junction GaAs solar cells were also being used as the power source of the Dutch four-time World Solar Challenge winners Nuna in 2005 and 2007, and also by the Dutch solar cars Solutra (2005) and Twente One (2007).

The Dutch Radboud University Nijmegen set the record for thin film solar cell effiency using a single junction GaAs to 25.8% in August 2008 using only 4 m thick GaAs layer which can be transferred from a wafer base to glass or plastic film.[41] [edit] Light-absorbing dyes (DSSC) Main article: Dye-sensitized solar cells Typically a ruthenium metalorganic dye (Ru-centered) is used as a monolayer of light-absorbing material. The dye-sensitized solar cell depends on a mesoporous layer of nanoparticulate titanium dioxide to greatly amplify the surface area (200-300 m2/g TiO2, as compared to approximately 10 m 2/g of flat single crystal). The photogenerated electrons from the light absorbing dye are passed on to the n-type TiO2, and the holes are passed to an electrolyte on the other side of the dye. The circuit is completed by a redox couple in the electrolyte, which can be liquid or solid. This type of cell allows a more flexible use of materials, and is typically manufactured by screen printing and/or use of Ultrasonic Nozzles, with the potential for lower processing costs than those used for bulk solar cells. However, the dyes in these cells also suffer from degradation under heat and UV light, and the cell casing is difficult to seal due to the solvents used in assembly. In spite of the above, this is a popular emerging technology with some commercial impact forecast within this decade. [edit] Organic/polymer solar cells Organic solar cells and Polymer solar cells are built from thin films (typically 100 nm) of organic semiconductors such as polymers and small-molecule compounds like polyphenylene vinylene, copper phthalocyanine (a blue or green organic pigment) and carbon fullerenes and fullerene derivatives such as PCBM.

Energy conversion efficiencies achieved to date using conductive polymers are low compared to inorganic materials. However, it improved quickly in the last few years and the highest NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) certified efficiency has reached 6.77% [42]. In addition, these cells could be beneficial for some applications where mechanical flexibility and disposability are important. These devices differ from inorganic semiconductor solar cells in that they do not rely on the large built-in electric field of a PN junction to separate the electrons and holes created when photons are absorbed. The active region of an organic device consists of two materials, one which acts as an electron donor and the other as an acceptor. When a photon is converted into an electron hole pair, typically in the donor material, the charges tend to remain bound in the form of an exciton, and are separated when the exciton diffuses to the donoracceptor interface. The short exciton diffusion lengths of most polymer systems tend to limit the efficiency of such devices. Nanostructured interfaces, sometimes in the form of bulk heterojunctions, can improve performance.[43] [edit] Silicon Thin Films Silicon thin-film cells are mainly deposited by chemical vapor deposition (typically plasma-enhanced (PE-CVD)) from silane gas and hydrogen gas. Depending on the deposition parameters, this can yield 1. Amorphous silicon (a-Si or a-Si:H) 2. Protocrystalline silicon or 3. Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si or nc-Si:H), also called microcrystalline silicon.
[44]

It has been found that protocrystalline silicon with a low volume fraction of nanocrystalline silicon is optimal for high open circuit voltage. [45] These types of silicon present dangling and twisted bonds, which results in deep defects (energy levels in the bandgap) as well as deformation of the valence and conduction bands (band tails). The solar cells made from these materials tend to have lower energy conversion efficiency than bulk silicon, but are also less expensive to produce. The quantum efficiency of thin film solar cells is also lower due to reduced number of collected charge carriers per incident photon. Amorphous silicon has a higher bandgap (1.7 eV) than crystalline silicon (c-Si) (1.1 eV), which means it absorbs the visible part of the solar spectrum more strongly than the infrared portion of the spectrum. As nc-Si has about the same bandgap as c-Si, the nc-Si and a-Si can advantageously be combined in thin layers, creating a layered cell called a tandem cell. The top cell in a-Si absorbs the visible light and leaves the infrared part of the spectrum for the bottom cell in nanocrystalline Si. Recently, solutions to overcome the limitations of thin-film crystalline silicon have been developed. Light trapping schemes where the weakly absorbed long wavelength light is obliquely coupled into the silicon and traverses the film several times can significantly enhance the absorption of sunlight in the thin silicon films.[46] Thermal processing techniques can significantly enhance the crystal quality of the silicon and thereby lead to higher efficiencies of the final solar cells.[47] A silicon thin film technology is being developed for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in the form of semi-transparent solar cells which can be applied as window glazing. These cells function as window tinting while generating electricity.

[edit] Nanocrystalline solar cells

Main article: Nanocrystal solar cell These structures make use of some of the same thin-film light absorbing materials but are overlain as an extremely thin absorber on a supporting matrix of conductive polymer or mesoporous metal oxide having a very high surface area to increase internal reflections (and hence increase the probability of light absorption). Using nanocrystals allows one to design architectures on the length scale of nanometers, the typical exciton diffusion length. In particular, singlenanocrystal ('channel') devices, an array of single p-n junctions between the electrodes and separated by a period of about a diffusion length, represent a new architecture for solar cells and potentially high efficiency. [edit] Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) Concentrating photovoltaic systems use a large area of lenses or mirrors to focus sunlight on a small area of photovoltaic cells. [48] High concentration means a hundred or more direct sunlight is focused. Most comercial producers are developing systems that concentrate between 400 and 1000 "suns". Nearly all concentration systems need a one axis or more often two axis tracking system for high precision, since most systems only use direct sunlight and need to aim at the sun with errors of less than 3 degrees. The primary attraction of CPV systems is their reduced usage of semiconducting material which is expensive and currently in short supply. Additionally, increasing the concentration ratio improves the performance of general photovoltaic materials. [49] Despite the advantages of CPV technologies their application has been limited by the costs of focusing, sun tracking and cooling equipment. On October 25, 2006, the Australian federal government and the Victorian state government together with photovoltaic technology company Solar Systems announced a project using

this technology, Solar power station in Victoria, planned to come online in 2008 and be completed by 2013. This plant, at 154 MW, would be ten times larger than the largest current photovoltaic plant in the world. [50] [edit] Silicon solar cell device manufacture

Solar-powered scientific calculator Because solar cells are semiconductor devices, they share many of the same processing and manufacturing techniques as other semiconductor devices such as computer and memory chips. However, the stringent requirements for cleanliness and quality control of semiconductor fabrication are a little more relaxed for solar cells. Most large-scale commercial solar cell factories today make screen printed poly-crystalline silicon solar cells. Single crystalline wafers which are used in the semiconductor industry can be made into excellent high efficiency solar cells, but they are generally considered to be too expensive for large-scale mass production. Poly-crystalline silicon wafers are made by wire-sawing block-cast silicon ingots into very thin (180 to 350 micrometer) slices or wafers. The wafers are usually lightly p-type doped. To make a solar cell from the wafer, a surface diffusion of

n-type dopants is performed on the front side of the wafer. This forms a p-n junction a few hundred nanometers below the surface. Antireflection coatings, which increase the amount of light coupled into the solar cell, are typically next applied. Over the past decade, silicon nitride has gradually replaced titanium dioxide as the antireflection coating of choice because of its excellent surface passivation qualities (i.e., it prevents carrier recombination at the surface of the solar cell). It is typically applied in a layer several hundred nanometers thick using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Some solar cells have textured front surfaces that, like antireflection coatings, serve to increase the amount of light coupled into the cell. Such surfaces can usually only be formed on single-crystal silicon, though in recent years methods of forming them on multicrystalline silicon have been developed. The wafer then has a full area metal contact made on the back surface, and a grid-like metal contact made up of fine "fingers" and larger "busbars" are screen-printed onto the front surface using a silver paste. The rear contact is also formed by screen-printing a metal paste, typically aluminium. Usually this contact covers the entire rear side of the cell, though in some cell designs it is printed in a grid pattern. The paste is then fired at several hundred degrees Celsius to form metal electrodes in ohmic contact with the silicon. Some companies use an additional electro-plating step to increase the cell efficiency. After the metal contacts are made, the solar cells are interconnected in series (and/or parallel) by flat wires or metal ribbons, and assembled into modules or "solar panels". Solar panels have a sheet of tempered glass on the front, and a polymer encapsulation on the back. Tempered glass cannot be used with amorphous silicon cells because of the high temperatures during the deposition proces