SINGLE CRYSTAL SILICON PV CELLS

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SINGLE CRYSTAL SILICON PV CELLS
www.solarcell.net
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PARTS OF A SOLAR CELL

• Electrically conductive grid on top surface to
  carry electrons
• 1-2 layers of anti-reflective coating to increase
  absorption
• The collector a thin layer of silicon
• An electrode in contact with base layer to
  complete the circuit.

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SILICON

• Silicon is the most popular PV material
• Most cells are made from left over computer chip
  manufacturing
• Silicon must be refined to almost 100 purity
• The uniform molecular structure of silicon makes
  it efficient for electron transport
• Silicon wafers are cut from ingots

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CZOCHRALSKI PROCESS

• This is the process of creating an ingot.
• A small single silicon rod (seed) is placed in an
  inert gas at high temps.
• When the seed is rotated up and out silicon
  adheres to it to form an ingot.

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CELLS -gt MODULES

• Wafers 5 inches square and .012 inches thick are
  sliced from the ingot.
• They are then processed into cells and soldered
  together to achieve the desired voltage.
• Cells arrayed in series are called modules.

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TWO TYPES OF CELLS

• There are two types of single crystal silicon
  cells n-type or p-type

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TECHNOLOGY

• PV cells exhibit voltage or current when exposed
  to light.
• The light liberates electrons which move through
  the cell creating current.
• The larger area there is the more current.
• Single crystal silicon cells are the most
  efficient at 15-24 sunlight-to-electricity
  conversion rate.
• They are also the most expensive to produce at
  6.50/ watt.

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MANUFACTURERS

• Sharp Electronics Corporation
• Sanyo
• bp Solar
• Shell
• Sunwise
• Uni-Solar
• AstroPower

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PRICE COMPARISONS

• Shell
• 80 watt panel
• 47.2x20.8x1.3
• 328.00

• AstroPower
• 75 watts
• 47.2x20.7x1.4
• 325.00

• Sunwise
• 85 watt panel
• 56.89x22.83
• 351.00

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Photovoltaic Materials-Silicon.
www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID1169 SOLARTRO
PE Supply Corporation. 2002. www.solartrope.com.
Resource Center Technologies. G/rated.
www.green-rated.org/resctr_tech.asp?id1 www.phy
sics.pomona.edu/COURSES/phys17/papers/PV.pdf www.m
rsolar.com www.oksolar.com