Abhishek Sunnak

BE 09104003 Electrical Engineering

What Is A Solar Cell

A solar cell is an electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It is a form of photoelectric cell which, when exposed to light, can generate and support an electric current without being attached to any external voltage source.

Solar Cells

Solar cells are often electrically connected and encapsulated as a module. Photovoltaic modules often have a sheet of glass on the front side. Various materials display varying efficiencies and have varying costs. Materials for efficient solar cells must have characteristics matched to the spectrum of available light. Materials- Si, CIGS, CdTe Solar cells are made from bulk materials that are cut into wafers between 180 to 240 micrometers thick that are then processed like other semiconductors.

Disadvantages

Costly to manufacture Less Efficiency Storage

What are Nanocrystal Semiconductors

Nanocrystal solar cells are solar cells based on a substrate with a coating of nanocrystals. Nanocrystal solar cells are classed as third generation solar cells, They are theoretically expected to overcome the ShockleyQueisser limit. Materials- Si, CdTe etc.

Quantum Dots

Quantum dots are semiconductors whose electronic characteristics are closely related to the size and shape of the individual crystal. They have a diameter in the range of 1-20 nm. Smaller the size of the crystal, the larger the band gap. The smaller the dot, the closer it is to the blue end of the spectrum, and the larger the dot, the closer to the red end

Advantages Over Normal Silicon :

Multiple electrons can be freed using a single photon. It also shows increased absorption in the red and infrared wavelengths. Higher electron mobility, due to the presence of the silicon crystallites. Quantum Dots can improve the efficiency of solar cells. The quantum dot band gap is tunable and can be used to create intermediate bandgaps. The maximum theoretical efficiency of the solar cell is as high as 63.2% with this method.

Nanocrystal Production Method

Sputtering is a process whereby atoms are ejected from a solid target material due to bombardment of the target by energetic particles. It is commonly used for thin-film deposition, etching and analytical techniques

Spincoating 3% Wet Synthesis 5%

Others 26% CVD 33%

Ink-jet Printing 14%

Sputtering 19%

Nanocrystal Production Method

An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. The emerging ink jet material deposition market uses print heads using piezoelectric crystals, to deposit materials directly on substrates.
Spincoating 3% Wet Synthesis 5%

Others 26% CVD 33%

Ink-jet Printing 14%

Sputtering 19%

Nanocrystal Production Method

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Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a chemical process used to produce high-purity, high-performance solid materials. The process is used to produce thin films. Frequently, volatile by-products are also produced, which are removed by gas flow through the reaction chamber.

Spincoating 3% Wet Synthesis 5%

Others 26% CVD 33%

Ink-jet Printing 14%

Sputtering 19%

Future Scope

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Liquid Nanocrystals Synthetic Nanocrystals

Nano-Wires

Liquid Nanocrystals

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Stable liquid solar cells can be painted or printed onto clear surfaces. They have a size of around 4nm. Liquid nanocrystal solar cells are cheaper to manufacture than single-crystal silicon wafer solar cells Solar cells can be printed on plastic instead of glass. Materials- cadmium selenide(CdS)

Synthetic Nanocrystals

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Substitution of the organic molecules with two inorganic nanocrystals made from zinc selenide and cadmium sulfide. These are highly robust crystals compared to the organic equivalents They are less vulnerable to heat, UV radiation, and degradation problems as the nanocrystals could be revitalized with a methanol wash.

Nano-Wires

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What are Nano-Wires?

Due to some unique physical light absorption properties of nanowires, the limit of how much energy we can utilize from the sun's rays is higher than previously believed Nanowires are more effective for storing solar energy because they center the sun's rays into a small region in nanowire crystal

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