Fundamental of Solar

Cell/Photovoltaic Science and

Technology

Course# 5557/457
Instructor: Mahbube Khoda Siddiki, Ph.D.
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department
University of Missouri-Kansas City
450P Flarsheim Hall
[email protected]
Introduction and course outline

• Introduce yourself
– Background
– Future plan
• Course outline
 Careers in Solar PV: Green jobs
• Job prospect:
– Jobs in scientific research & development
• Investigate, measure, observe chemical and physical
phenomena, improve cell performance
• Having a Ph.D. is necessary
• Avg. Salary $70-80k per annum
– Jobs in solar power engineering
• Apply the principles of science and mathematics to develop
economical solutions to technical problems.
• Master level education is preferable
• Avg. Salary $70-80k per annum
– Jobs in semiconductor material (solar cell) processing
& manufacturing industries
• Oversee the manufacturing process of materials and devices.
• Open to both master and bachelor level engineers
• Avg. Salary $60-70k per annum
 Careers in Solar PV: Green jobs (cont.)
– Jobs in micro and nano electronic device manufacturing industries
• Oversee the design and manufacturing process, electronic devices
• Master level education is preferable
• Avg. Salary $70-80k per annum
– Jobs in solar PV power plant
• power plant development
• power plant construction
• power plant operations & maintenance
– Solar photovoltaic installation and maintenance engineers
• use specialized skills to install residential and commercial solar projects.
– Jobs supporting the solar power industry
• Lots of job sectors are open. Clean energy such as solar PV is
expected to be a key piece of the growing “green economy,” and
jobs in solar PV show great potential for new employment
opportunities.

http://www.bls.gov/home.htm
Solar photovoltaic: A broader picture
of sustainable future

Module 1
Instructor: Dr. Mahbube Khoda Siddiki
 Energy: A necessity to sustain
• As human being, we need energy for growth and preservation
of civilization and enhancing living standard
• In between living standard and energy consumption there is a
direct relationship:
– higher standard of living →higher energy consumption
• Each of us, in average need at least 2000 to 3000 kWh
annually, per capita
– 1 kWh = 1000 x 3600 Joule = 3.6 x 106 Joule
– 2000 kWh = 7.2 x 109 Joule = 7.2 Giga Joule per year per person
– Human population ~6.5 x 109 , then the world needs ~4.7x1019
Joule/year.
• The Sun showers the Earth with about 1.4 x1017 Joule per
second energy.
– An hour energy provided by sunlight (5.1 x1020 Joule) to the Earth is
equal to the worlds annual energy consumption (assuming that
people have a high living standard).
Human development index Vs Energy
consumption: A comparative picture

S. G. Benka, Phys. Today 55, 39 (2002)

 Bottom-line

• We need a lot of energy and in fact we consume a lot of

energy
• Meanwhile, more energy is needed to preserve high
living standard in the developed countries and to
enhance living standards in the developing countries
 Different forms of energy
• Kinetic Energy
– Due to a moving object: e.g. a moving car
• Potential Energy
– Due to position of an object: e.g. this projector hanging overhead
• Thermal, or heat energy
– At micro scale, collective kinetic and potential energy of the molecules in a an
object: e.g. human body temp
• Chemical Energy
– a form of potential energy at microscopic scale that exists due to the electric and
magnetic forces of attraction and repulsion between the different parts in a
molecular system
• Electrical Energy
– Due to movement of electron in a system
• Electrochemical Energy
– Electrical energy due to chemical reaction: Battery, fuel cell
• Sound Energy
– the potential and kinetic energy of air molecules
• Nuclear Energy
– Energy released due to reactions that involve changes in the structure of the
nuclei of atoms
 Major types of energy in day to day life
• Electrical and electromagnetic energy
(electricity and light):
– very easy to transport,
– difficult to store
• Chemical energy (stored in materials
such as gasoline and coal):
– very easy to store,
– difficult to transport
• Thermal energy:
– difficult to store,
– difficult to transport

http://www.mhhe.com/physsci/chemistry/chang7/esp/folder_structure/en/m1/s1/
 More on electrical energy

• Electricity is a very popular

form of energy since
– it can be transported with the
speed of light
– It can be easily distributed by
metallic wires without human
intervention.
– also it can be easily transformed
to other forms of energy (such as
thermal, kinetic, chemical,
electromagnetic, etc.).
 Various energy sources used to
produce electricity

• Two major sources: Non renewable and Renewable

• Another type known as sustainable, which might renewable or
non renewable
 Various energy sources – I
• Non renewable, fossil based energy sources: also called fossil
fuel, e.g. coal, natural gas, and oil;
– Formed from the remains of plants and other living species due to
chemical conversion for millions of years.
– Fossil based materials contain huge amount of chemical energy within
them, i.e. high energy density
• That is why they are widely used in high power and high performance
applications such as for automobiles, airplanes and electricity production.
– Origin of all kinds of fossil based energies is photosynthesis process.
• Which uses light energy and carbon dioxide to form sugar (energy storage)
and oxygen.
– Usage of fossil energy cause the release of huge amount of CO2 in
atmosphere which contribute to global warming
 Various energy sources – II
• Renewable energy sources: solar energy, Wind energy,
and hydro power
– Clean sources of energy originate from sunlight.
– Amount of energy obtained from these sources is moderate.
 Various energy sources - III
• Biofuel based renewable energy sources:
– derived from recently dead biological materials,
– contain a lot of chemical energy inside them, i.e. high energy density
– chemical energy in biofuels also originates from the photosynthesis.
• Geothermal energy source:
– clean energy generated by heat stored beneath the Earth's surface, or the
collection of absorbed heat derived from underground in the atmosphere and
oceans.
– molten core of the Earth is responsible for this heat and it goes back to 4.5
billions years ago when it formed from the dust and gas leftover from the
formation of the Sun
 Various energy sources - IV
• Nuclear energy:
– Clean energy, originates from splitting (fission) or merging (fusion) of
the nuclei of atom(s).
– During the fission or fusion small amount of mass converts to huge
amount of energy.
– energy density is extremely high and cannot be easily utilized for many
applications.
– application is mainly restricted to electricity generation.
– Storage of the radioactive byproducts of nuclear reactors is a major
issue and is the main disadvantage of this energy source.
Consequences of using fossil fuels
 Over-consumption of fossil based fuels
• Human kind is consuming fossil based sources much more faster
than their formation period (several hundreds of years versus
tens of millions of years).
• Consequence: this releases huge amount of extra CO2 into the
atmosphere

Sources: DOE/EIA, IEA

 Green house effect and global warming
• The atmosphere of the Earth is almost transparent to the sunlight.
• The earth reradiates the attracted energy from sunlight in the infrared
regime.
• Green house gases such as CO2, CH4, and nitrous oxides efficiently
absorb infrared light and reradiate the infrared light in all directions.
– This resonance results in higher temperature at the surface of the earth.

Schematic of Green house effect

www.gov.pe.ca
 Energy balance of the Earth
• The total solar energy
coming into and leaving the
Earth system is nearly
constant, and all the
energy gains and losses
are in balance.
– As a result, the Earth’s
climates are relatively stable
for thousands of years, and
– temperature ranges and
weather patterns can be
broadly forecasted.
• Due to fossil fuel use,
earth’s is getting energy
imbalanced
 Need for alternative sources of energy
• Human civilization needs alternative sources of energy
– to preserve its growth without significantly harming the environment.
• Criterions of alternative sources of energy
– must be clean and sustainable
– must have huge capacity for generation of a few terra watts (1012 W)
• Based on above criteria, it can be said that the origin of the
sustainable source of energy should be the Sun because
– sunlight has provided the Earth energy for growth and prosperity for
billions of years and
– it is expected to do so for a few more billions of years.
Solar based sustainable energy sources

• Hence sunlight based sustainable energy sources can

be listed as follows
– Solar Photovoltaic/ solar cell
– Solar thermal
– Wind energy
– Biofuels
 Photovoltaics
• Photovoltaic is a very attractive source of energy
– it directly converts sunlight to electricity (the most versatile form of
energy).
– Photovoltaic (PV) electricity is the cleanest form of energy
– PV electricity is sustainable
• The power obtained from PV systems is suitable for many
applications
– Current PV modules generate 100 to 150 Watts/ m2
• But PV might not look suitable for high power high
performance applications (such as airplanes, and cars).
– Nevertheless, combined with other technologies such as batteries, PV
electricity is being used in automobiles (Toyota Yaris, 2011)
 Brief history of solar PV cell
• In 1839, French experimental physicist, Edmond Becquerel first observed the
photovoltaic effect
– he discovered that when exposed to light, two brass plates immersed in a
liquid, produce a continuous current
• In 1870, English investigators, W. G. Adams and R. E. Day, found that exposing
selenium to candlelight, an electrical current can be generated and maintained.
• After few years in 1883 , Charles E. Fritts, an American inventor, made the first
selenium based solar photovoltaic cell that converted sunlight into electricity with
1% efficiency.
• In 1954 scientists (D. Chapin, C. S. Fuller and G. Pearson) from Bell Labs
invented the first crystalline silicon solar cells with an efficiency of 4%
• In 1958, six small silicon solar panels, providing 100 mW of power were
included on the satellite Vanguard I.
• Thin film solar cells using compound semiconductors (e.g. CdTe, CdS, CIGS)
were invented by various groups during 1977-1979
• High efficiency tandem and multijuncion solar cell came in 1980-81
• In 1986 Tang reported first organic solar cell with 1% efficiency
Trend of solar cell research and efficiency

www.nrel.gov you can also find it on Wikipedia

Global solar energy potential

http://bit.ly/1495xYe
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html
http://www.bendib.com/environment/
 A short documentary on global
warming
• http://bit.ly/Lj15gR
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9xc75ovwug
 Capacity of Photovoltaics
• Solar PV power is moderate but solar energy is abundant.
– 100 mi x 100 mi PV power plant in Nevada Desert
– 12.9% efficiency: 3.34 TW (average power consumption in US in 2005;
including gas electricity etc.)1
– Only 0.1% of the crust of the Earth needs to be covered by PV modules in
order to supply worlds energy by only PV electricity.
• Drawback: PV electricity is not so predictable (no energy in cloudy
days).
– Need backup
• But keep in mind, PV doesn’t need to supply all of our energy needs
but a meaningful portion of it.

1Energy information administration

• This is a huge project (the biggest project of all times) but it is feasible in the
21st century.
• Comparable projects
• Roads (done in the 20th century)
• Electricity grids (done in the 20th century)
Source: Google map
 Solar Photovoltaic: a new opportunity
window
• Global PV industry revenues: $10.6 bn in 2006, $12.9 bn in
2007, more than $32 bn in 2012 and expected to cross $90
bn in 2013.
– This shows just over 20% annual increase in the PV market revenue.
• PV module shipment has sustained an annual growth of over
40% for more than 10 years and expected to do so. Another
Moor’s law is being experienced in the PV industry1.
• Semiconductor industry:
– Integrated circuit industry ($200 bn annual revenue). Grows slowly
– Displays industry ($70 bn annual revenue). Grows super fast.
– Solar cell industry ($30-35 bn). Grows very quickly. In 20 years
the PV industry can overtake both the IC industry and display
industry1.

Source: http://www.solarbuzz.com/
http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/pv_roadmap.pdf
 World PV installation scenario for 2012
• Around the world 31.1 GW of PV systems were installed in 2012, up from
30.4 GW in 2011;
– PV remains, after hydro and wind power, the third most important renewable energy source
in terms of globally installed capacity
• 17.2 GW of PV capacity were connected to the grid in Europe in 2012
– Europe still accounts for the predominant share of the global PV market, with 55% of all new
capacity in 2012
• Germany was the top market for the year, with 7.6 GW of newly connected
systems
– followed by China with an estimated 5 GW; Italy with 3.4 GW; the USA with 3.3 GW; and
Japan with an estimated 2 GW
• For the second year in a row, PV was the number-one new source of
electricity generation installed in Europe
• Under a pessimistic Business-as-Usual scenario, the global annual market
could reach 48 GW in 2017
– under a Policy-Driven scenario, it could be as high as 84 GW in 2017

http://www.epia.org/news/publications/
Exponential growth of solar PV

Cumulative installed global PV capacity

http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/pv_roadmap.pdf
 PV technology roadmap
This was predicted back in 2006, but the growth rate has exceeded
already

Source: http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/863/bipv/documents/pm12252006totalSolarPresentation.pdf
Top 10 solar cell producers

Source: wiki
Top ten module producers

Source: wiki
Global PV market by technology in
2013
 PV electricity is expensive
• The other major drawback of the PV electricity is the cost.
– PV electricity is 3 to 5 times more expensive than the conventional sources
of energy (21.39 cents/kWh versus 5 to 10 cents/kWh)1.
• Solar cell industry heavily relies on the wafer based Si solar cells which
is quite expensive (4.69 $/Watt Peak)1.
– By increasing the production volume, solar PV manufacturers predict a slow but a
steady cost reduction trend (5 to 6% per year).

EUROPE

USA

• Other competing technologies such as amorphous Si solar cells and

CdTe solar cells offer lower costs (2.5 to 4 $/Wp)
– but the lifetime of these solar cells is less than those of wafer-based Si
solar cells.
Source: http://www.solarbuzz.com/
 Research and development Opportunities in
solar PV
• to make PV electricity cost-competitive with grid electricity,
solar cell industry’s goal should be to set the price range
less than 1$/Wp
– This means that PV devices and modules should experience a price
cut of more than 75%, which is very challenging.
– This opens up great opportunities for research and development in
the fields of PV materials, devices.
• New materials, new device structures, and new synthesis
and fabrication technologies are most welcome in PV
community.
 Sample question
• What is energy?
• What is law of conservation of energy?
• What are the different form of energy we can see around us?
• Which one is clean energy?
• Which type of energy is versatile?
• What are the backlogs of energy from solar cell?
• How you can make solar energy popular?
 End of this module!
• A reminder for all of us