Ultrathin solar cells are cost efficient, but new theoretical tools are needed to understand how light interacts with cells thinner than its wavelength. Solar energy technology photovoltaic or pv cells convert light energy into electricity. Photovoltaics university of oxford department of physics. Peter wurfel describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step. Since 2009 he is head of the group dye and organic solar cells at the fraunhofer institute for solar energy systems ise in freiburg. Pc61bm solar cells, and a pce enhancement of 302%, from 0. Peter wurfel describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be considered when improving solar cells and their efficiency. A solar cell is an electronic device which directly converts sunlight into electricity. This process requires firstly, a material in which the absorption of light raises an electron to a higher energy state. All life on earth is based on solar energy following the inven tion of photosynthesis by the algae. Acs energy letters american chemical society 2 2017 857861.
Light shining on the solar cell produces both a current and a voltage to generate electric power. Photovoltaic effect, process in which two dissimilar materials in close contact produce an electrical voltage when struck by light or other radiant energy. Solar cell device physics offers a balanced, indepth qualitative and quantitative treatment of the physical principles and operating characteristics of solar cell devices. Physics of solar cells dr peter wurfel, uli wurfel haftad. Pdf political and administrative responses to sami. The textbook describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be considered when improving solar cells and their efficiency. Their combined citations are counted only for the first article. Solar photovoltaics a talk on physics of solar cell organized by sameh,viet,and he 11 2. This book is the result of a series of lectures dealing with the physics of solar cells. Sep, 2016 uli wurfel studied physics at the universities of freiburg and heidelberg.
In hotcarrier solar cells, in which electrons are at a high temperature by assuming. Harnessing efficient solar cells with quantum mechanics. Wurfel p physics of solar cells from principles to new. Jan 01, 2005 peter wurfel describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be considered when improving solar cells and their efficiency. Solar cells are silicon wafers which are doped to produce a pn junction. Based on the highly regarded and extremely successful first edition. Investigating the role of 4tert butylpyridine in perovskite solar cells.
Physics of solar cells wiley online books wiley online library. Fundamental properties of solar cells, principles and. Peter wurfel, 97835274126, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The active region is thick enough to absorb all light above the band gap. Peter wurfel describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to. Basics of photovoltaic energy conversion carnot cycle and a solar thermal engine thermalization produces chemical energy of ehpairs why semiconductors. Conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy 6. Light striking crystals such as silicon or germanium, in which electrons are usually not free to move from atom to atom within the crystal, provides the energy needed to free some electrons from their bound condition. Denis ar con ljubljana, may 2011 abstract this seminar is a short overview of current photovoltaics. His research activities started with ferroelectric thin films, mostly for pyroelectric infrared detectors. From principles to new concepts wiley online library.
The photoelectric effect allows construction of the automatic door openers that work when you walk through a. Producing electrical energy through photovoltaic energy conversion by solar cells is the human counterpart. Topics covered include photovoltaic energy conversion and solar cell materials and. The textbook describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be. However, the performance is steadily improving and polymer solar cells promise to enable much lower production costs because the active layers can be deposited from.
Apr 16, 2015 solar photovoltaics a talk on physics of solar cell organized by sameh,viet,and he 11 2. Silicon photovoltaic cells are typically thought of as voltage supplies, but they are also useful as sensitive detectors of light and near infrared. Polymer cells can be made with a power conversion efficiency of 9%, which is still somewhat lower than that of inorganic silicon solar cells with efficiencies on the order of 15%. Vikram dalal, major professor rana biswas joseph shinar sumit chaudhary. Concepts for improving the efficiency of solar cells prospects for the future solutions this text contains the latest knowledge on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion. These solar cells are fabricated using a combination of thin film deposition and etching techniques.
Junction solar cells w shockley and hj queisser, j appl phys 32, pp. More complete and rigorous treatments are available from a number of sources 26. An overview of the sequence is shown to the right figure 1. Physics of solar cells dr peter wurfel, uli wurfel. Peter wurfel, 9783527408573, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Commonly used cells are produced as wafers of diameter about 8 cm and 3 mm thickness which are cut from a crystalline silicon rod. From principles to new concepts wurfels book describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind.
Peter wurfel studied physics at the university of karlsruhe where he later became professor. Device physics of organic and perovskite solar cells by mehran samiee esfahani a dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy major. I am grateful to the many students who called my attention to errors and suggested improvements. Citescore values are based on citation counts in a given year e. Whether theyre adorning your calculator or orbiting our planet on satellites, they rely on the the photoelectric effect. Introduction to the physics of electronics, myron f. Electrical energy is one of the most useful forms of energy, since it can be used for almost everything. You searched for solar energy we found 16 results on physics.
Based on the highly successful german version, but thoroughly revised and updated, this edition contains the latest knowledge on the mechanisms of. The solar cell is assumed to be a blackbody at 300k. The physics of solar cells the photoelectric effect the physical basis for solar cells is the photoelectric effect it was the explanation for this for which einstein won the nobel prize. From basic principles to advanced concepts no longer used.
We give the upper limit to the solar cell e ciency. Advanced concepts by peter wurfel the analogy illustrates the law of induction continental. In conventional pn junction solar cells, carrier multiplication by impact ionisation, is negligible, owing to the low temperature of the electronhole pairs. Patel, wind and solar power systems, second edition. Based on the highly successful german version, but thoroughly revised and updated, this edition contains the latest knowledge on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion. Bittner and his collaborators are in the process of demonstrating that the breakup of a photoexcitation inside a polymer photovoltaic cell is a quantum mechanically coherent culling process where the charges separate by long distance in ultrafast time scales and do so according to the laws of quantum mechanics in. The new edition of this highly regarded textbook provides a detailed overview of the most important characterization techniques for solar cells and a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages. He received a phd from the university of freiburg in 2006. This site looks at the development of photovoltaics as a domestic and industrial source of. The physics of solar cells, 2003, 363 pages, jenny nelson. Ultrathin solar cells are cost efficient, but new theoretical tools are needed to. Both are decent books, but neither comes close to the clarity that greens book has. Sep 27, 2012 to bring down the cost per kilowatt of electricity from solar cells, designers propose making the active semiconductor material thinner.
It describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all the issues to be considered when improving solar cells and their efficiency. Device physics of organic and perovskite solar cells. Peter wurfel, university of karlsruhe, germany monday 31 may, from 11. Analysing the effect of crystal size and structure in highly efficient ch 3 nh 3 pbi 3 perovskite solar cells by spatially resolved photoand electroluminescence imaging. The sequence is a simple set of repeating steps including oxidation, etching, diffusion, cleaning and patterning.
Wurfer, physics of solar cells, from principles to new concepts. Based on the highly regarded and extremely successful first edition, this thoroughly revised, updated and expanded edition contains the latest knowledge on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion. He has a keen interest in the physics of photovoltaics. Nelson 8 19 february 2010 imperial college london u. Application of pn junctions within solar cells is discussed. The lectures the lectures are organized into 12 units. I read the books by nelson the physics of solar cells and wurfel physics of solar cells. Socalled thinfilm solar panels, although less efficient per square meter, tend to be much cheaper to produce, and they are the technology being tapped to realize the worlds largest proposed pv plant, the rancho cielo solar farm in belen, n. The physics of solar cells by jenny nelson, imperial college press, 2003. A without the frequency conversion layer, the efficiency of the model csi solar cell is 21. From basic principles to advanced concepts peter wurfel, uli wurfel the new edition of this highly regarded textbook provides a detailed overview of the most important characterization techniques for solar cells and a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages. Silicon is what is known as a semiconductor, meaning that it shares some of the properties of metals and some of those of an.
Newest solarcells questions physics stack exchange. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Commonly used cells are produced as wafers of diameter about 8 cm and 3 mm thickness which are cut from a. Using equation 5, the additional current density that is derived from the uc glass layer is j ex,3 8. This leads to particle conservation between the net number of absorbed photons and the number of electronhole pairs withdrawn from the cell. Uli wurfel studied physics at the universities of freiburg and heidelberg. Solar photovoltaics solarcells the heart of a pv system, are meant to absorb sunlight and convert it directly to electricity, they rely on the photoelectric effect the ability of matter to emit electrons when a light incident on it. This uptodate text discusses all the aspects of solar photovoltaic pv technologies from physics of solar cells to manufacturing technologies, solar pv system design and. From principles to new concepts wurfels book describes in detail all aspects of solar cell function, the physics behind every single step, as well as all. Silicon is what is known as a semiconductor, meaning that it shares some of. Solar or photovoltaic cells convert the suns energy into electricity. Wurfel p physics of solar cells from principles to new conceptsspringer 2005. The fabricated solar cells exhibited a pce enhancement of 3%, from 1.
173 1374 1446 40 745 272 677 85 893 434 610 488 1146 248 1091 1475 1376 933 1087 336 495 1508 1306 495 941 144 516 930 433 1245 763 468 81 1154 28 1119 940