Course Details:
Solar cells are expected to be one of the most important energy sources in the future, simply because solar energy is renewable & the cells are emission-free. But now, the efficiency is very low and the manufacturing costs are very high. There is a lot of research going on, in this area for reducing the manufacturing cost & also for increasing the efficiency. The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the physics of the photovoltaic cell. The focus will be on the basic semiconductor physics relevant to photovoltaics, physical models of photovoltaic devices & how these relate to the design & function of practical devices. This course should enable the reader to understand how solar cell work, to understand the concepts & models of solar cell device physics, & to formulate & solve relevant physical problems.
Module 1: Introduction
Photons in, Electrons out – Photovoltaic effect, history of solar cell, Photovoltaic cells & power generation, characteristics of the Photovoltaic cell.
Module 2: Basic Principles of PV
Solar resources, solar energy converters, work available from a photovoltaic device, ideal photo-converter.
Modules 3: Electrons and holes in semiconductors
Electron states in semi-conductors, semiconductor in equilibrium, impurities and doping, semiconductor under bias, photo-generation & recombination.
Module 4: Junctions
Metal-semiconductor junctions, semiconductor-semiconductor junctions, electrochemical junctions, junctions in organic materials.
Module 5: Analysis of the p-n junction & Managing light
The p-n junction, depletion approximation, p-n junction in the dark, p-n junction under illumination, photon flux, minimizing reflection, light confinement, photon recycling.
Module 6: Strategies for high efficiency
Thermodynamic limit to efficiency, Multiple band gaps, ‘Hot’ carriers.
Textbook:
• The Physics of solar cells, Jenny Nelson.
References:
• Physics of Solar Cells: From Basic Principles to Advanced Concepts: Peter Würfel.
• Solar Cell Device Physics:Stephen Fonash