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Solar Cells and LEDs

Robert F. Pierret, “Semiconductor Device Fundamentals”, Pearson Education (2006). ISBN: 978-81-775-8977-1

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Samreen Shabbir
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© © All Rights Reserved
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124 views

Solar Cells and LEDs

Robert F. Pierret, “Semiconductor Device Fundamentals”, Pearson Education (2006). ISBN: 978-81-775-8977-1

Uploaded by

Samreen Shabbir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Optoelectronic

Devices
Haris Mehmood
Optoelectronic devices
• Optoelectronic devices convert one energy form to another. These devices
produce light by expending electrical energy. They can also detect light
and transform light signals to electrical signals.
• Examples: Photodiode, solar cell, laser diode, Light-emitting diode (LED)

• Optoelectronic devices consist of a p-type and n-type regions, just like a


regular p-n diode.
• Key differences:
• Additional interaction between the semiconductor and light.
• Combination of various semiconductor layers on the substrate to optimize light
absorption and emission, resulting in a high conversion efficiency.
Optoelectronic devices

In optoelectronic devices, electric fields in the form of applied voltages or


band-bending due to doping are usually utilized to separate the charge
carriers.
Solar Cells
Also known as Photovoltaic (PV) Cell

Video on Global Warming


Energy concerns
Future biggest challenges:
• Energy security
• depleting resources
• climate change
Renewables emerging!
PV growth: 40 GW in 2010 to
>500 GW in 2019 1,2
Approximately 5% of world
population going PV-powered
by 2020 3
Fig.1.1. Oil consumption worldwide [1]
1. BP, “BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018,” London UK, 2018.
2. REN21, “Renewabale Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century: Renewables 2018 Global Status Report,” Paris, France, 2018.
3. “International Energy Agency (IEA) 2014 Technology Roadmap: Solar Photovoltaic Energy Edition,” 2014, Online: http://www.iea.org/, Accessed on: 21 August, 2018.
17 June 2020 5
Fig. 1.2. Solar PV Global capacity as recorded in terms of Country/region from 2007-2017
Solar Cell Operation
Sunlight

Cathode

Solar cell converts sunlight into electricity by n-type


Photovoltaic effect:
• Absorption of sunlight Electric field
• Generation of Electron-hole pairs (EHPs)
• Separation of carriers
• Collection at electrode
p-type

Anode
Hole Electron 7
17 June 2020
Maximum theoretical efficiency for Si PV
Si as an absorber has a band gap
of 1.12 eV hc
E ph 

Maximum η of 33% according to
revised Quessier Shockly Limit 1,2
• Of the solar light, which does reach a solar
cell, only photons with energy larger than
the energy band gap of the semiconductor
generate electron-hole pairs
• Much portion of the sunlight is wasted as
heat in solar cell (non-radiative)

Sun spectrum and absorption limitation by


Silicon
1. William Shockley and Hans J. Queisser, Journal of Applied Physics, 32 (3), pp. 510–519, 1961
2. S. Rühle, Solar Energy, 130, pp. 139–147, 2016.
17 June 2020 8
Best efficiency

Max conversion efficiency (theoretical vs achieved)


Crystalline Silicon solar cell
Highest efficient Si solar cell has the conversion
efficiency (η) of 26.6% (IBC-SHJ configuration) 1
Another structure: SHJ HIT proffer η of 24.7% 2
Employ amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layers
• Improvement in the passivation
• Enhanced voltage (Voc) of the device
• High η potential

Device configuration of record 26.6%


efficient Interdigitated Back-contact solar
cell 1

1. K. Yoshikawa, H. Kawasaki, W. Yoshida, et al., Nat. Energy, 2, p. 17032, 2017


2. M. Taguchi et al., IEEE J. Photovoltaics, 4, 1, pp. 96-99, 2014.
17 June 2020
State-of-the-art configuration of 10
HIT device with 24.7% efficiency
Band diagram of simple solar cell

Band bending physics with MoOx


Band diagram of complete solar cell
Used in research
papers related to
solar cells
IV characteristics of solar cell

(Vm, Pm)
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
• Light emitting diodes are p-n diodes in which
the recombination of electrons and holes
yields a photon.
• This radiative recombination process occurs
primarily in direct band gap semiconductors
where the lowest conduction band minimum
and the highest valence band maximum
occur at k = 0, where k is the wavenumber.
• Examples of direct bandgap semiconductors
are GaAs, InP, and GaN
Composition of LEDs
Band diagram of blue LED
Band diagram of LED
Characteristics of LEDs
• Indium gallium nitride (InGaN): blue, green
and ultraviolet high-brightness LEDs
• Aluminum gallium indium phosphide
(AlGaInP): yellow, orange and red high-
brightness LEDs
• Aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs): red
and infrared LEDs
• Gallium phosphide (GaP): yellow and green
LEDs

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