PEOPLE ‘S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

ALGERIA
Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research
University EL-Hadj Lakhdar-BATNA 1
Faculty of Material Science
Department of Physics
master’s thesis
For the purpose of obtaining the

Master’s degree in Physics

Presented by :BOUAFIA NARIMANE SOUHA ;Feroudji BESMA

TITLE :

Option : RADIATION PHYSICS

The Review Board constituted by the Jury :

Supervisor :
President :
Examiner :

Master 2023-2024
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DEDICATION
Résumé :
 Table of contents
General Introduction………………………………………………………………….1
References………………………………………………………………………………….3
Chapter  :photovoltaic solar cells………………………………………………4
.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………4
.2 Concept on photovoltaic sources…………………………..4
.2.2 the different sources of energy………………………….
.2.3 Solar radiation and its different types………………..
.3 Semiconductor…………………………………………………..
.3.1 Definition of a semiconductor………………..
.3.2 Types of semiconductors……………………………………
.3.2.1 Intrinsic semiconductor…………………………
.3.2.2 Extrinsic semiconductor…………….
.3.3 Doping……………………….
.3.3.1 Definition of doping…………………..
.3.3.2 N-type doping…………………………………..
.3.3.3 P-type doping…………………….
.3.4 The 3 doping methods……………
 .3.5 Why use Silicon……………………..
.4 The P-N junction……………………….
.5 the optical gap

.5 solar cells

.6 Breif History of solar cells
.7 Types of Solar cells
.8 Solar cells generation…………………
.8.1 First –Generation Solar cells……………….
.8.2 Second –Generation cells………..
.8.3 Third –Generation…………….
.8.4 Fourth –Generation cells…………..
.9 Photovoltaic effect
.8 the discovery of the photovoltaic effect
.9 Solar Spectrum
.9Operating principle
Photovoltaic cell characters
The crucial factors of photovoltaic (Pv) cells
Short-circuit current sc
Open circuit voltage Voc
Maximum poir point
Fill factor FF
The efficiency
Yield 
Advantage and disadvantages of photovoltaic energy

Conclusion………………………………….
Référence………
Chapter : Polycrystalline silicon and its properties…………
.1 ntroduction …………………………………..
.2 Définition of silicon (si)………………………………………..
.2.1 crystalline silicon……………………………..
.2.2 polycrystalline silicon……………………………..
.3 Polycrystalline silicon……………………………………….
.4 Structural properties of polycrystalline silicon……………
.5 Hydrogenated polycrystalline silicon………………
.6 Role of hydrogen……………………………………..
 Chapter  :
Photovoltaic solar cells
.1 ntroduction :
Solar panels are devices that convert sunlight into electricity through the photovoltaic effect.

n this chapter ,we will learn about photovoltaic cells and the way they convert the sun’s energy into
electricity by using a semi-conductor material which is affected by photovoltaic effect,where we will
discuss the definition of semi-conductor ,their types, dopping and p-n junction , Brief history of the
photovoltaic cells and and their characteristic.

.2 Concept on photovoltaic sources :

.2.1The different sources of energy :
There are various sources of energy that we rely on for different purposes .some common
sources of energy include:

 Fossi fuels: This includes coal ,oil,and natural gaz that come from ancient plants and
animals,we burn them to release energy,but they can cause pollution.
 Renewable Energy :This is energy that come from sources that won't run out,like the
sun,water,and plants.we canuse these sources to generate electricity without
harming the envirinment.
 Nuclear Energy:This is energy that comes from splitting atoms in a process called
nuclear fission.it can produce a lot of power ,but it also has some risks and waste
issues.
 Biomass:This is energy that come from burning things like wood,crops,or waste.it's a
renewable source because we can grow more plants to replace what we use.
 Hydroelectric Power:This is energy that come from flowing or falling water,like in
dams or rivers.we can use it to generate electricity.
 Geothermal Energy:This is energy that come from the heat inside the Earth.we can
tap into it to produce electricity or heat buildings.
 .2.2 Solar radiation and its different types :

Fifure.1 : Solar radiation coponents.

 DIRECT RADIATION :Refer to the solar radiation the rearches the earth’s
surface without being scattered or reflected by the atmosphere .it is the sunlight
that directly reaches us ,theis type is very important for activities such as solar
energy generation …etc.
 DIFFUSE RADIATION :is the sunlight that is scattered in different directions
before reaching the Earth’s surface .it contributes to the overall illumination of
our surrondings ,even on cloudy days when direct sunlight is limited.
 REFLRCTED RADIATION (ALBEDO) :refers to the measure of how much
radiation is reflected by a surface compared to how much is absorbed .it’s like a fancy
term for the reflectivity of an object or surface .where A high albedo means that a
surface reflects a lot of radiation ,while a low albedo means that a surface absorb more
radiation .so it’s a way to describe how shiny or reflective something is.
.3 Semi conductor :
All materials are made up of atoms. These atoms contribute to the electrical
properties of material, including its ability to conduct electrical current.[1]
These features allow us to distinguish three types :

 Insulators.
 Conductors.
 Semiconductors.
.3.1 Deffinition of a semi-conductors :
semiconductor is a material that is between conductors and insula-
 tors in its ability to conduct electrical current. Two of the most
commonly used are Silicon (Si=14 atomic no.) and germanium (Ge=32 atomic
no .).Both have 4 valance electronsvalance electrons. [2]

.3.2 Types of semiconductors :

Semiconductors are classified into two categories :

 NTRINSIC Semiconductor.
 Extrinsic Semiconductor :P-Type and N-Type.

.3.2.1 Intrinsic semiconductors :

It’s a form of a pure semiconductor material,like silicon or germanium,without
impurities added through doping,in intrinsic semiconductor the number of free
electron in the conduction band and the number of holes in the valence band is exactly
equal and very small indeed ,and its conductivity is low and depending on the
temperature [ECE255,lecture1-jan9.intro.pdf,Semiconductors].

Figure : crystal structure at 0°k Figure : crystal structure of si at room temperature

 .3.2.2 Extrinsic semiconductor :
Extrinsic semiconductor is an improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount
of impurities added by process to modify their electrical properties,this process of
adding impurities is called doping .[ECE255,lecture.intro.pdf]
.3.3 Doping :
Déffinition of the dopage :
The dopage is impurities intentionaly added to the material during the production
process,these impurities are called dopants and they helps controling the electrical
behavior of the semiconductor by affecting its conductivity.
By adding different doppants,we can either increase the number of free electron (n-
type),or create more holes for electrons (p-type).
Depending on the type of impurities added ,the extrincis semiconductor can be
devided in two classes :
N-TYPE doping :
If the added impurity is a pentavalent atom then the resultan semiconductor is called
N-type
P type semiconductor :
Photovoltaic technologies classification :

Photovoltaic cells are mainly classified into three categories called generations, named

basically after the active material they are manifactured from.

First Generation : (crystalline silicon PV cells)

Crystalline silicon wafer-based solar cells are the first generation of solar cells, they can
be classified into two types : silicon-based monocrystalline and multi-crystalline solar cells.

Monocrystalline solar cells :

Crystalline Silicon wafer-based solar cells with bandgap energy of 1.1ev, currently, are
the most popular solar cells in the market, known as the first generation ever developed.
They can be categorized into two types : Monocrystalline solar cells and multicrystalline
solar cells.

Monocrystalline solar cells : (single crystalline solar cells) :

The production of monocrystalline solar cells is typically based on the Czockralski
process wich necissates a highly accurate techniques.
 They are considered to be the highest crystal quality that increases the charge
extraction and power conversion efficiency PCE [SOLAR Cells ty2]. This exceptional efficiency
that attained 26.1% and it can reach up to 27.6% makes them relatively high in cost
compared to the other kinds of solar cells [comparision of solar cells]

Polycrystalline solar cells : (multi-crystalline solar cells)

Polycrystalline (or multi-crystalline) solar cells are formed using silicon fedstock through
casting technologie.
They are composed of a combined various randomly oriented crystals creating
boundaries that impact the charge extraction or electrons flow, stimulating them to
recombine with holes, then, decreasing the power out put of the solar cells, [SOLAR Cells
ty2] which makes their efficiency scaled back to 18% to 23.3%, thus costly higher than the
monocrystalline ones. [comparision of solar cells]
The History of Solar Cells :

The history of the solar cells advancement since its discovery has indeed gone several
stages and there have been a significant progress in the zfficiency

1839 : Alexandre Edmond discovered the photovoltaic effect through a silver coated
platinum electrode imersed in a conductive solution exposed to light.

1877 : William Adams and Richard Day published an article about the Photovoltaic Selenim
cells « The action of light on selinium » in proceeding of Royal Society, A25, 113.

1883 : Charles Frittes structured a solar cel lusing Selenuim on a thin layer of gold with an
afficiency of 1%.

1904 : wilhelm Hallwachs developed a junction solar cell in Copper-Copper oxide.

1905 : Albert Einstein published a paper explaining the Photoelectric Effect on a quantum
basis.

1918 : Jan Czochralski produced a tecnique to grow single crystals of metal.

1948 : Gordon Teal and John Little adopted the Czochralski method of crystal growth to
improve single crystalline germanium and, later, Silicon.

1954 : Bell Labs developed a modern solar cells with high pure cristalline of about 6%
efficiency.

1958 : T.Mandelkorn, U.S signal corps Laboratories manifactured N-P junction Silicon cells
wich are more resistant to radiation damage for space activities. Vanguard , the first solar
powerd satellite, was launched with a 0.1W, 100cm² solar panel.
1960 : Hoffman electronics created 14% efficient solar cells.

1972 : Hovel and Woodall at IBM demonstrate AlGaAs/GaAs solar cell with 18% to
20%efficiency.

1976 : David Carlson and Christopher Wronski of RCA Laboratories introduce first amorphus
Silicon PV cells with an efficiency of 1.1%.

1993 : The National Renewable Energy Laboratry’s Solar energy Research Facility is
established.

1998 : The first ThermoPhotoVoltaic Heat & Electricity Co-generation MidnightSun TM Stove
produced by JX Crystals Inc.

2006 : Polysilicon used in photovoltaics surpassed its use in any application for the first time.

The operating principle of solar cells :

The functioning of a solar cell is based on the properties of semiconductors, typically

made of silicon.
Sunlight consists of photons or light particles which contain various amounts of energy
correspending to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum. When these photons hit
the surface of the solar cell, it transfers its energy to the electrons in the semiconductor
material. This energy excites the electrons, causing them to break free from their atoms and
move randomly. However, Once an electric current is generated, these electrons will flow a
specific direction.
In order for this process to be facilitated, the solar cell is made up of two layers of
silicon : The N-type layer is doped with phosphorus, which provides extra electrons, while
the P-type layer is doped with boron, which creates "holes" or spaces for electrons. The
junction between these two layers forms what is called a P-N junction. [pv operatin prin]
This junction creates an electric field within the solar cell, whereas the excited electrons and
the holes are then separated. The free electrons are pushed towards one side of this
junction from the N-type layer to the P-type layer. while the positively charged "holes" left
behind by the excited electrons are pushed towards the other side.
By separating the charges, an electric potential difference is created between the two
sides of the solar cell, resulting in a flow of electric current when a circuit is connected. This
current can then be used to power electrical devices or stored in batteries for later use.
[solar energy]