SOLAR CELL

By:
SARTHAK MITTAL
DTU/11/0675
A solar cell is any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the
process of photovoltaics. The development of solar cell technology begins with the 1839 research of
French physicist Antoine-Csar Becquerel. Becquerel observed the photovoltaic effect while
experimenting with a solid electrode in an electrolyte solution when he saw a voltage develope when
light fell upon the electrode.
Charles Fritts - First Solar Cell
According to Encyclopedia Britannica the first genuine solar cell was built around 1883 by Charles
Fritts, who used junctions formed by coating selenium (a semiconductor) with an extremely thin layer
of gold.
Russell Ohl - Silicon Solar Cell
Early solar cells, however, had energy conversion efficiencies of under one percent. In 1941, the
silicon solar cell was invented by Russell Ohl.
Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin - Efficient Solar Cells
In 1954, three American researchers, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin, designed a
silicon solar cell capable of a six percent energy conversion efficiency with direct sunlight.
The three inventors created an array of several strips of silicon (each about the size of a razorblade),
placed them in sunlight, captured the free electrons and turned them into electrical current. They
created the first solar panels. Bell Laboratories in New York announced the prototype manufacture of a
new solar battery. Bell had funded the research. The first public service trial of the Bell Solar Battery
began with a telephone carrier system (Americus, Georgia) on October 4 1955.
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device which generates electricity directly from visible light by means
of the photovoltaic effect. In order to generate useful power, it is necessary to connect a number of cells
together to form a solar panel, also known as a photovoltaic module. There is more about the the different
types of solar cell here. The nominal output voltage of a solar panel is usually 12 Volts, and they may be
used singly or wired together into an array. The number and size required is determined by the available
light and the amount of energy required.
Can the power be stored?
The amount of power generated by solar cells is
determined by the amount of light falling on them, which is in turn determined by the weather and time of
day. In the majority of cases some form of energy storage will be necessary.
In a Grid-connected system, the solar array is connected to the mains. Any surplus power is sold to the
electricity company, and power is bought back from them when it is needed.
In a Stand-alone system, however, this is not possible. In this type of system the usual choice for energy
storage is the lead-acid battery. The number and type of batteries is dependent on the amount of energy
storage needed. Find out more about batteries here.
Power Control
No matter what, sometimes there will be too much power. Other times there won't be enough. In a stand-
alone system the battery will be damaged if it is allowed to be overcharged or over discharged, so a
controller is needed to protect it. Read more about controllers here.
The smallest systems may have only a few 12 Volt lights, but in bigger systems 230 or 110 Volts will
probably be needed. An inverter is used to transform the low voltage DC generated by the solar panels
into mains voltage AC. An different type of inverter is needed in a grid-connected system to convert the
surplus power in order to export it to the grid.
Rationalising your energy usage is the next step to building a successful solar powered system.

Solar cells are usually made from silicon, the same material used for transistors and integrated circuits.
The silicon is treated or "doped" so that when light strikes it electrons are released, so generating an
electric current. There are three basic types of solar cell. Monocrystalline cells are cut from a silicon
ingot grown from a single large crystal of silicon whilst polycrystalline cells are cut from an ingot made
up of many smaller crystals. The third type is the amorphous or thin-film solar cell.
Amorphous Solar Cells
Amorphous technology is most often seen in small solar panels, such as those in calculators
or garden lamps, although amorphous panels are increasingly used in larger applications. They are made
by depositing a thin film of silicon onto a sheet of another material such as steel. The panel is formed as
one piece and the individual cells are not as visible as in other types.
The efficiency of amorphous solar panels is not as high as those made from individual solar cells,
although this has improved over recent years to the point where they can be seen as a practical
alternative to panels made with crystalline cells. Their great advantage lies in their relatively low cost per
Watt of power generated. This can be offset, however, by their lower power density; more panels are
needed for the same power output and therefore more space is taken up.
Crystalline Solar Cells
Crystalline solar cells are wired in series to produce solar panels. As each cell
produces a voltage of between 0.5 and 0.6 Volts, 36 cells are needed to produce an open-circuit voltage
of about 20 Volts. This is sufficient to charge a 12 Volt battery under most conditions.
Although the theoretical efficiency of monocrystalline cells is slightly higher than that of polycrystalline
cells, there is little practical difference in performance. Crystalline cells generally have a longer lifetime
than the amorphous variety.
Solar Power Batteries
In stand-alone systems, the power generated by the solar panels is usually used to charge a lead-acid
battery. Other types of battery such as nickel-cadmium batteries may be used, but the advantages of the
lead-acid battery ensure that it is still the most popular choice. A battery is composed of individual cells;
each cell in a lead-acid battery produces a voltage of about 2 Volts DC, so a 12 Volt battery needs 6 cells.
The capacity of a battery is measured in Ampere-hours or Amp-hours (Ah).
Battery Types
The number of times a battery can be discharged is known as its cycle life, and this
is what determines its suitability for use with solar cells. Car batteries are the most common type of lead-
acid battery, but will survive only 5 or 10 cycles so are unsuitable for our purposes. For solar applications
a battery needs to be capable of being discharged hundreds or even thousands of times. This type of
battery is known as a deep-cycle battery, and some of the many different types are explained here.
Leisure Batteries
Leisure batteries or caravan batteries are usually the cheapest type of deep-cycle
battery. They look similar to a car battery but have a different plate construction. Their capacity is
normally in the range of 60 to 120 Ah at 12 Volts, making them most suitable for smaller systems. The
cycle life of leisure batteries is limited to a few hundred cycles, meaning that they are most suitable for
systems which will not be used every day, such as those in caravans or holiday homes.
Traction Batteries
The term traction battery relates to all batteries used to power electric
vehicles. This can mean anything from a mobility scooter to a fork-lift truck, so encompasses capacities
from 30 or 40 Ah to many hundreds. The smaller traction batteries are usually 6 or 12 Volt units, where
the largest are single 2 Volt cells. Traction batteries are ideal for solar power applications, as they are
intended to be fully discharged and recharged daily. The larger traction batteries can withstand thousands
of discharge cycles. There are also batteries known as semi-traction batteries, which can be thought of as
higher quality leisure batteries, exhibiting a greater cycle life. Marine batteries also fall into this category.
Sealed Batteries
There are many types of sealed lead-acid batteries, ranging from those of 1 or 2
Ah to single cell traction batteries of hundreds of Amp-hours. The advantages of sealed batteries are
obvious; they need no maintenance and are spill-proof. They do have disadvantages however; they are
more expensive than other battery types, they require more accurate charging control and can have a
shorter life, especially at high temperatures. Sealed batteries are most appropriate where the solar power
system will need to operate for long periods without maintenance.
Solar cells or Photovoltaic cells are the most basic components of solar units that convert light energy into
electricity. This process involves the emission of electrons when light shines on the surface of the metal. This process
is known as photoelectric effect and then the flow of electrons is directed which gets transformed into electric current.
Basically, the Solar cell technology is of 3 major types. They are the Discrete Cell technology, Integrated Thin Film
technology and the Multicrystalline Silicon technology.
Discrete Cell technology consists of Solar cell cut from synthetic silicon to a size of 200 microns. The efficiency of
these cells lies between 20 and 30%. Polycrystalline material is used in Integrated Thin Film technology, where the
efficiency is up to 11%. The best example of a Solar cell using this type of technology is in the case of calculators and
watches that you come across almost every day.
The third type of technology, Multicrystalline Silicon consists of silicon wafers made from cast silicon blocks. They are
not costly, but the efficiency level is lesser, between 14 and 18%.
There are many benefits of using Solar cell technology for generating power.
The very first benefit of using this technology is that solar energy is renewable. The sunlight will neither deplete over
a period of time, nor will there be any power outages. Relatively, fossil fuels are going to run out in a few decades.
Since the sun is a reliable source of power, your home and appliances are going to be powered by Solar cells almost
forever.
Another advantage of using Solar cell technology is that this is a 100% environment-friendly technology. Contrary to
fossil fuels, this technology is not going to release any greenhouse gases, harmful agents, volatile material or carbon
dioxide into the environment. When you start relying upon solar energy for your energy requirements, you are
showing more care towards Mother Nature.
Another advantage offered by this technology is that solar panels are highly durable and reliable. These systems
dont have any moving systems and hence they dont require any replacement. You can use Solar cell technology to
generate thousands of hours of electricity with minimal maintenance. Almost every energy source creates some sort
of noise, but that is not the case with solar panels and cells.
Even though the initial cost of installing solar energy systems may be a little high, but over a period of time you will
find the cost to be negligible compared to buying power from utility companies. Once you have installed the system, it
will start paying for itself. However, with a power company you will have to pay monthly bills without any kind of
return.
If you think that solar power is not affordable, then you need to think again. There is an affordable system for
everyone. You can get a system installed for a few thousand rupees and then there are systems that require lacs of
rupees to be installed. You can always find an entry-level solution for your home and requirements.
Once you have installed a solar power system in your home, you are completely independent of the power grid. You
dont have to depend upon the unreliable services of the utility company. You are going to be independent and self
sufficient for your power requirements. You would no longer be paying any electricity bills or having to deal with
constant power outages and breakdowns.
If the Solar cell systems installed by you generate more than your homes power requirement, you can sell it to the
power grid and earn income from it. Installing a large system can make this possible. You can get information about
the buy-back facility from the power companies, where you can either get paid in cash or in credit.
The government is also going to offer you tax rebates when you start using this environment-friendly source of
energy. The incentive or tax credit is offered by the government when you purchase and install the system. Generally,
you can use these rebates to compensate almost 30% of the cost of the installation.
Last but not the least benefit of solar power technology is that it is always growing in terms of improvements and
usage. More and more homeowners and businesses are starting to make solar power an integral part of their power
source. And, this is also contributing to bring down the price of this technology.