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2.626 Fundamentals of Photovoltaics

Fall 2008

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ChargeSeparation:HowVoltageand CurrentAreFormed
Lecture6 2.626 Tonio Buonassisi

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Discussion

GeneralAnnouncements
Books PrintOutsofLectureNotes

HomeworkAssignment
Read:MartinGreen,Chapter4 Read:PVCDROM:Chapters3and4

Books:Stickershock,anyone?

Ifnot,wellcallinthe order!
Images removed due to copyright restrictions. Please see the covers of: Green, Martin A. Solar Cells: Operating Principles, Technology, and System Applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982. Green, Martin A. Silicon Solar Cells: Advanced Principles and Practice. Sydney, Australia: Centre for Photovoltaic Devices and Systems, 1995. Wenham, Stuart A., et al. Applied Photovoltaics. Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2007.

Outline Review:pnjunctions Minoritycarriercurrent Idealdiodeequation

Review: Diffusion

Courtesy Christiana Honsberg and Stuart Bowden. Used with permission.

FromPVCDROM

Review:DriftCurrent

FromPVCDROM
Courtesy Christiana Honsberg and Stuart Bowden. Used with permission.

Review:pnjunction

Courtesy Christiana Honsberg and Stuart Bowden. Used with permission.

Eventually,theaccumulationoflikecharges[(h+ +P+)or(e +B)]balances outthediffusion,andsteadystateconditionisreached.

Nicerfigureat Wikipedia!

Image removed due to copyright restrictions. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pn-junction-equilibrium-graphs.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pn_junction

Pnjunctionunderbias

Image removed due to copyright restrictions. Please see http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/~schubert/Light-Emitting-Diodes-dot-org/chap04/F04-01%20PN%20junction%20energies.jpg.

http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/~schubert/LightEmittingDiodesdot org/chap04/chap04.htm

BiasAcrossapnJunction
Image removed due to copyright restrictions. Please see http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/~schubert/Light-Emitting-Diodes-dot-org/chap04/F04-01%20PN%20junction%20energies.jpg.

Builtinpnjunction potentialafunctionof dopant concentrations.

BiasAcrossapnJunction
Image removed due to copyright restrictions. Please see http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/~schubert/Light-Emitting-Diodes-dot-org/chap04/F04-01%20PN%20junction%20energies.jpg.

Builtinpnjunction potentialafunctionof dopant concentrations.

BiasAcrossapnJunction
Thepotentialacrossabiasedpnjunctiondeviceis

CarrierConcentrationsAcrossapnJunction
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) n=nn0 ND

n=np0 ni2/NA p=pn0 ni2/ND Distance,x

Approximation1:Devicecanbesplitintotwotypesofregion:quasi neutralregions(spacechargedensityisassumedzero)andthedepletion region(wherecarrierconcentrationsaresmall,andionizeddopants contributetofixedcharge).

Widthofspacechargeregion
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) n=nn0 ND

n=np0 ni2/NA p=pn0 ni2/ND Distance,x

Widthofspacechargeregion
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) n=nn0 ND

n=np0 ni2/NA p =pn0 n /ND NB:Actually * o,where oi, thevacuumpermittivity,is 8.85x1012 F/mor Distance, x 7 e/(V*m) 5.53x10
2

Widthofthe spacecharge region

Capacitance
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) n=nn0 ND

n=np0 ni2/NA p=pn0 ni2/ND Distance,x

pnjunctionarea

Device capacitance

Capacitance
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) n=nn0 ND

n=np0 ni2/NA p=pn0 ni2/ND Distance,x

Whenonesideof thepnjunctionis heavilydoped,the capacitancereduces tothisexpression

Pnjunctionunderzero bias
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) n=nn0 ND

n=np0 ni2/NA p=pn0 ni2/ND Distance,x

Pnjunctionunderforward bias
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) npa pnb np0 pn0 a b Distance,x n=nn0 ND

Pnjunctionunderforward bias
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) npa pnb np0 pn0 a b Distance,x n=nn0 ND

Atzerobias:

Currentflowthroughthedepletionregion
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) npa pnb np0 pn0 a b Distance,x
Driftcurrent Diffusioncurrent

n=nn0 ND

Forholes:

Currentflowthroughthedepletionregion
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) npa pnb np0 pn0 a b Distance,x
Approximation2: AssumeJh issmall!

n=nn0 ND

Forholes:

Currentflowthroughthedepletionregion
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) npa pnb np0 pn0 a b Distance,x n=nn0 ND

Integrating

Currentflowthroughthedepletionregion
Transition region p=pp0 NA Ln (n),Ln (p) npa pnb np0 pn0 a b Distance,x n=nn0 ND

Approximation3:Only caseswhereminority carriershaveamuchlower concentrationthanmajority carrierswillbeconsidered, i.e.,ppa >>npa,nna >>pna

Currentdensities
Calculate(diffusive)currentsinquasineutralregion:

J Je x a b x Jh

Currentdensities

Magnitudeofthechangeincurrentacrossthedepletionregion:

Keyassumption:WissmallcomparedtoLe andLh.Therefore,integralis negligible.ItfollowsthatthecurrentJe andJh areessentiallyconstant acrossthedepletionregion,asshownbelow.

Jtotal Jh J Je x a b x Jh Je

IdealDiodeEquation
SinceJe andJh areknownatallpointsinthedepletionregion, wecancalculatethetotalcurrent:

Thisleadstotheidealdiodelaw:

NextClass Idealdiodeequationdiscussion Contacts ReviewPart1