Semiconductor Devices — Physics STD 12 Science — Question

Construction :
A simple pn-junction solar cell con-sists of a p-type semiconductor substrate backed with a metal electrode back contact. A thin n-layer (less than 2.5 pm, for silicon) is grown over the p-type substrate by doping with suitable donor impurity. Metal finger electrodes are prepared on top of the n-layer so that there is enough space between the fingers for sunlight to reach the n-layer and, subsequently, the underlying pn-junction.

Working : When exposed to sunlight, the absorption of incident radiation (in the range near-UV to infrared) creates electron-hole pairs in and near the depletion layer.

Consider light of frequency v incident on the pn-junction such that the incident photon energy hv is greater than the band gap energy EG of the semiconductor. The photons excite electrons from the valence band to the conduction band, leaving vacancies or holes in the valence band, thus generating electron-hole pairs.

The photogenerated electrons and holes move towards the n side and p side, respectively. If no external load is connected, these photogenerated charges get collected at the two sides of the junction and give rise to a forward photovoltage. In a closed- circuit, a current I passes through the external load as long as the solar cell is exposed to sunlight.

A solar cell module consists of several solar cells connected in series for a higher voltage output. For outdoor use with higher power output, these modules are connected in different series and parallel combinations to form a solar cell array.

[Note : Currently most of the crystalline solar cells are p-type as described above. This is because of a lower cost of production of p-type. But performance wise, n-type solar cells (a thin p-layer over an n-type substrate by doping with suitable acceptor impurity) can give much better efficiency compared to p-type solar cells.]