How does Solar Cell Work

How does Solar Cell Work

How does Solar Cell Work - The contribution of solar energy to the world's total energy supply has grown significantly. In this article, it will show how solar cell or photovoltaic cell produce electricity. Energy from the sun is the most abundant and absolutely freely available energy on planet earth. In order to utilize this energy we need help from the second most abundant element on Earth.


Sand we converted to 99.999% pure silicon crystals to use in solar cells. To achieve this this and has to go through a complex purification process as shown. The Ross silicon gets converted into a gaseous silicon compound form. This is then mixed with hydrogen to get high purified polycrystalline silicon. 


This silicon ingots are reshaped and converted into very thin slices called silicone wafers. The silicone wafer is the heart of a photovoltaic cell. When we analyze the structure of the Silicon atoms you can see they are bonded together. 

You will lose your freedom when you are bonded with someone. Similarly the electrons in the Silicon structure also have no freedom of movement.

how solar cell work

To make the study How does Solar Cell Work easier let's consider a 2D structure of the Silicon crystals. Assume that phosphorus atoms with five valence electrons are injected into it. Here one electron is free to move. 

In the structure when the electrons get sufficient energy they will move freely. Let's try to make a high e simplified solar cell only using this type of material. When light strikes them the electrons will gain Photon energy and will be free to move. However the movement of the electrons is random. 

It does not result in any current through the load. To make the electron flow you, need directional a driving force is needed. Easy and practical way to reduce the driving force is a PN Junction. Let's see how happy and Junction produces the driving force.

how solar cell work

Are to n-type doping if you inject Boron with three valence electrons into pure silicon their will be one whole for each atom this is called p-type doping. If these two kinds of doped materials joined together some electrons from the ends side will migrate to the pirogen and fill the holes available there. 

This way a depletion region is formed, where there are no free electrons and holes. Due to the electron migration the ends side boundary becomes slightly positively charged. And the P side becomes negatively charged. An electric field will definitely be formed between these charges. This electric field produces the necessary driving force. Let see it in detail.

When the light strikes the PN Junction something very interesting happens. Light strikes the end region of the PV cell and it penetrates and reaches up to the depletion region. This Photon energy is sufficient to generate the electron hole pairs in the depletion region. 


The electric field in the depletion region drives the electrons and holes out of the depletion region. Here we observe that the concentration of electrons in the end region and holes in the pirogen become so high that a potential difference will develop between them. 

These regions electrons will start flowing through the load. Combined with the holes in the. After completing their path, in this way, solar cell continuously gives direct current. In a practical solar cell you can see that the top and the layer is very thin and heavily doped.

Where is the peel air is thick and likely. The performance of the cell. Just observe the depletion region formation here. You should note that the thickness of the depletion region is much higher here compared to the previous case. This means that due to the light striking electron-hole pairs are generated in a wider area compared to the previous case.

This results in more current Generation by the PV cell. The other Advantage is that due to the thin top layer more light energy can reach the depletion region. Let's analyze the structure of a solar panel.

You can see the solar panel has different layers. One of them is a layer of cells. You will be amazed to see how these PP cells are interconnected. After passing through the fingers, the electrons get collected in busbars. 


The top negative side of this cell is connected to the backside of the next self to copper strips. Here it forms a series connection. When you connect these series connected cells parallel to another cell series you get this solar panel. 

A single PV cell produces only around 5 voltage. Combination of series and parallel connection of the cells increases the current and voltage values to a usable range. The layer of EVA sheathing on both sides of the cells is to protect them from shocks vibrations humidity and dirt. Why are there two different kinds of appearances for the solar panels.

This is because of the difference in the internal crystalline lattice structure. In polycrystalline solar panels multi crystals are randomly oriented. The chemical process of silicon crystals is taking one step further the polycrystalline cells will become monocrystalline cell. 


Even the principles of operation of both are the same monocrystalline cells offer higher electrical conductivity. However monocrystalline cells are costlier and does not widely used. Even though running costs of PV cells are negligible the total Global energy contribution of solar voltaic is only 1, 3%. This is mainly because of the capital costs and the efficiency constraints of solar voltaic panels, which do not match conventional energy options. 

Solar panels on the roofs of homes have the option to store electricity with the help of batteries and solar charge controllers. They are connected to the electrical grid system in the same way that other conventional power plant outputs are connected with the help of power inverters DC is converted to AC and fed to the grid. That is all about How does Solar Cell Work that www.dinginaja.com can present to you. Thank for your visit.

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