Solar Cells

Jeff Buck

ENGR 1050

Wesley Sanders
 Solar Cells

What Solar Cells are:

A solar cell is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity

by the photovoltaic effect. Solar cells are also often called photovoltaic devices. The operation of

a photovoltaic (PV) cell occurs when light energy strikes the cell. Electrons are then knocked

loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. If electrical conductors are attached to the

positive and negative sides, an electrical circuit is formed and the electrons can be captured in

the form of an electric current (electricity).

History of Solar Cells:

A French scientist Edmond Becquerel first discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839.

This process occurs when light is absorbed by a material and creates electrical voltage. Most

modern solar cells use silicon crystals to attain this effect. In 1883, a New York inventor named

Charles Fritts created the first solar cell by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold. This cell

achieved an energy conversion rate of 1–2%. Most modern solar cells work at an efficiency of

15–20%. In 1887, German physicist Heinrich Hertz first observed the photoelectric effect, where

light is used to free electrons from a solid surface (usually metal) to create power. Modern-day

solar cells rely on the photoelectric effect to convert sunlight into power. In 1888, a Russian

physicist Aleksandr Stoletov built the first cell based on the outer photoelectric effect discovered

by Heinrich Hertz in 1887. Albert Einstein later argued that the amount of power that light

quanta carry varies according to the wavelength of light — the shorter the wavelength, the more
power. The shortest wavelength, for example, contains photons that are about four times as

powerful as those of the longest.

Some of the Science behind Solar Cells:

Doping

Doping creates electron holes and extra electrons. There are two types of dopants, N-

type and P-type. The N-type creates extra electrons and the P-type creates electron holes. This is

important because an electron in its excited state is looking for a hole to fill when it comes back

down from its excited state. The energy released from that excited electron as it fills the hole

produces the electricity in a solar cell.

Absorption and Emission

Absorption occurs when where energy, light or radiation is absorbed by the electrons of

a particular matter. In a solar cell, the electrons are ejected when light is absorbed. Emission is

the opposite of absorption. Energy is emitted when the electron fills a vacant orbital or hole left

from an electron.

The Photoelectric Effect and Photovoltaic Effect

The photoelectric effect states that when light of certain energy strikes a metal, electrons

are knocked off of atoms and released to create power. Those electrons are essentially knocked

off into space. The photoelectric effect takes place in a cathode ray tube with the participation of

a cathode and an anode connected via an external circuit. The photovoltaic effect is observed
between two metals that are in conjunction with each other in a solution. During this process, the

electrons directly enter another material upon emission.

Silicon Composition

Most solar cells are made with silicon because of the way that

the valence electrons are situated in the atom. The valence electrons are

the electrons in the outer most shell of the atom. Silicon has 4 valence

electrons which makes it a good semiconductor. In its crystalline

structure, silicon shares each of the 4 electrons with neighboring atoms

in covalent bonding. The valence electrons play an extremely important

role in producing the photovoltaic effect.

Applications and Benefits of Solar Cells:

Green Energy:

Solar cells have been vital and will continue to play an important role in the production of

green energy. Solar cells are mostly made out of silicon but there are also many organic and

hybrid solar cells such as polymer-fullerene, polymer, low-molecular, dye-synthesized, etc. As

one of the top ten science breakthroughs of 2013, perovskite solar cells have shown potential

both in the rapid efficiency improvement (from 2.2% in 2006 to the latest record 20.1% in 2014)

and in cheap material and manufacturing costs. Perovskite solar cells have attracted tremendous

attention from the likes of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells and Organic PVs with greater potential.

Silicon still dominates the PV market today.

 When one of Japan's leading carmakers decides to start making solar cells, is it any

surprise that the result is twice as efficient as current methods? Honda, one of Japan's leading

carmakers decided to start making solar cells and prepares entry into the market in full stride in

the fall of 2018.When its 39,000-square-foot facility in Kumamoto, Japan goes on line, it is said

to produce enough solar cells each year to power 8,000 homes. By making thin-film cells from a

compound of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium, Honda will use only 50% of the energy and

carbon dioxide needed to make traditional silicon cells. Designed by Honda Engineering, they

will be used mainly for homes and small businesses in Japan. While the $70 million in expected

annual sales is a drop in the bucket for Honda, it hopes to expand production and start selling the

cells in the United States and Europe as well.

Expensive:

Solar cells can be expensive. Organic solar cells promise to overcome the cost issue

applying either solution-based processing technologies or low-cost vacuum-deposition

techniques. The spin-coating technique represents the method of choice for testing small-scale

quantities of new organic materials. The organic material absorbs a photon to form an electron-

hole pair called an exciton to achieve the photovoltaic effect.

A wider use of solar energy for electricity production and photocatalysis necessitates

new, efficient, and low-cost materials. Approaches to enhancing the efficiency of organic solar

cells are analyzed. Requirements for the development of new efficient materials for

photovoltaics and photocatalysis are formulated. Examples of photocatalytic systems active

under illumination with visible light are given.

Residential Use:
 As the technology and efficiency of solar cells have increased, residential solar power has

become more popular. DIY solar panels started hitting the market in 2005 and have become

more prevalent with each new year. It’s a good idea if you want to go solar, but only if you’re

rich enough. Due to the steep upfront costs of around $32,000, only upper-income families can

afford it. Alternative Energy Solar Project is, however, looking to change that. This new project

hopes to help middle class communities see the sun in a different light. Through covering 30% of

the costs with available Government Rebates & Incentives, along with funding from private

investors to eliminate upfront costs, the project aims to kill two birds with one stone. It will save

Middle-Class families money, while also cutting the use of fossil fuels.

Flexible Solar Cells:

Paper-thin solar cells require only an industrial printer to manufacture and are

inexpensive to produce. They have 20% power conversion efficiency, and a single strip can

produce up to 50 watts per square meter. Unlike traditional panels, the printed solar cells are

flexible, which eases their transportation to rural locations. This also allows them to be placed in

many different functional locations such as window blinds. Despite the challenges, printed solar

cells are a powerful anti-poverty tool and represent a major step towards a 100 percent renewable

energy economy.

Sunless Solar Power:

A research team from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Australian National

University discovered new properties of nanomaterial. One of these properties is called magnetic

hyperbolic dispersion, which means the material glows when heated. If combined with

thermophotovoltaic cells, it could turn heat into electricity without the need for sunlight.
Conclusion:

Solar cells are important to our ecosystem. With the use of solar cells, there can be less

consumption of fossil fuels which can damage and pollute the air. There are a couple of reasons

why they haven’t been implemented in full force. First, the conversion rates and costs of solar

cells have not been very good but have been improving. Second, the need for constant power and

the inability of solar cells to provide power without light has led to people using other types of

energy. Solar power has come a long way in the past 200 years, from observing the properties of

light to finding new ways to convert it into power. This technology shows no signs of slowing

down. If anything, it is advancing at an unprecedented rate. I see the application of solar cells

playing a vital role with the uses of energy in the future.

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