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The
white
area
reflects
the
energy
levels
in
the
forbidden
band
gap.
The
horizontal
axis
reflects
the
lattice
momentum
in
various
directions.
The
band
gap
of
silicon
is
determined
by
the
lowest
energy
point
of
the
conduction
band
at
x,
related
to
the
100
direction,
and
the
highest
energy
value
of
the
valence
band,
at
gamma.
Now
we
zoom
in
to
the
band
gap
area.
The
band
gap
energy
is
the
difference
between
those
two
levels
and
equals
1.12
eV,
or
1107
nm,
expressed
in
wavelengths.
This
transition
is
an
indirect
transition.
I
repeat
again,
the
charge
carriers
need
energy
and
momentum
transfer
to
be
excited.
As
you
can
see,
crystalline
silicon
has
a
direct
transition
as
well.
However,
this
transition
has
an
energy
of
3.4
eV,
which
equals
a
wavelength
of
364
nm.
This
is
in
the
blue
spectral
part.
For
an
indirect
band
gap
material
it's
less
likely
that
a
photon,
above
the
band
gap,
is
able
to
excite
the
electron
into
the
conduction
band
in
reference
to
a
direct
band
gap
material.
Consequently,
the
absorption
coefficient
of
crystalline
silicon
in
reference
to
direct
band
gap
materials,
like
GaAs
and
InP,
is
significantly
lower,
as
we
can
see
in
this
plot.
Crystalline
silicon
is
indicated
by
the
red
line,
whereas
GaAs
and
InP
is
indicated
in
yellow
and
green.
You
can
see
that
in
the
visible
spectrum
crystalline
silicon
absorbs
less
than
the
GaAs
and
InP,
but
below
364
nm,
it
absorbs
just
as
much
as
GaAs
and
InP,
because
silicon
has
direct
band
to
band
transition
here
as
well.
Germanium,
indicated
by
the
blue
line,
is
like
silicon:
it
is
an
indirect
band
gap
material.
It
has
a
band
gap
of
0.67
eV,
which
means
it
already
starts
to
absorb
light
at
wavelengths
below
850
nm.
In
the
visible
part,
germanium
has
some
direct
transitions
as
well.
Let's
consider
the
design
rules
for
solar
cells
as
introduced
in
week
3.
Let's
start
with
spectral
utilization.
A
band
gap
of
1.12
eV
means
that
in
theory
we
can
generate
a
maximum
short
circuit
current
density
of
45
mA
per
square
centimeter,
using
crystallin
silicon.
Let's
consider
the
third
design
rule:
light
trapping.
First,
we
look
at
a
wavelength
around
800
nm.
Crystalline
silicon
has
an
absorption
coefficient
of
1000
per
centimeter.
You
can
simply
calculate,
using
Lamberts
law,
that
to
realize
an
absorption
of
90%
of
the
light
intensity
at
800
nm,
it
requires
an
absorption
path
length
of
23
microns.
Around
a
wavelength
of
970
nm,
crystalline
silicon
has
an
absorption
coefficient
of
100
per
centimeter,
and
it
requires
an
absorption
path
length
of
230
microns
to
absorb
90%
of
all
the
light.
This
is
a
typical
thickness
of
silicon
wafer.
This
demonstrates
that
the
light
trapping
techniques
become
important
for
crystalline
silicon
absorber
layers
above
a
wavelength
of
900
nm.
Let's
consider
the
last
design
rule,
which
is
the
utilization
of
the
band
gap
energy.
As
discussed
in
week
3,
the
band
gap
utilization
is
determined
by
the
recombination
losses.
As
silicon
is
an
indirect
band
gap
material,
only
Auger
recombination
and
SRH
recombination
will
determine
the
open
circuit
voltage.
If
we
consider
SRH,
the
recombination
of
charge
carriers
is
related
to
the
electrons
trapped
at
defect
states.
In
view
of
defects
in
the
bulk
of
silicon,
we
can
make
a
general
difference
between
2
types
of
silicon
wafers:
Monocrystalline
silicon
and
multicrystalline
silicon,
or
also
called
polycrystalline
silicon.
Monocrystalline
silicon,
or
also
called
single-crystalline,
is
a
crystalline
solid,
in
which
the
crystal
lattice
is
continuous
unbroken
without
grain
boundaries
over
the
entire
solid,
up
to
the
edges.
In
contrast,
polycrystalline
silicon,
often
abbreviated
with
polysilicon,
is
a
material
that
consists
of
many
small
crystalline
grains,
with
random
orientations.