What is a Solar Cell?

A solar cell (also known as a photovoltaic cell or PV cell) is defined as an electrical device
that converts light energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. A solar cell is
basically a p-n junction diode. Solar cells are a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device
whose electrical characteristics – such as current, voltage, or resistance – vary when exposed
to light.
Individual solar cells can be combined to form modules commonly known as solar panels.
The common single junction silicon solar cell can produce a maximum open-circuit voltage
of approximately 0.5 to 0.6 volts. By itself this isn’t much – but remember these solar cells
are tiny. When combined into a large solar panel, considerable amounts of renewable energy
can be generated.
Construction of Solar Cell
A solar cell is basically a junction diode, although its construction it is little bit different from
conventional p-n junction diodes. A very thin layer of p-type semiconductor is grown on a
relatively thicker n-type semiconductor. We then apply a few finer electrodes on the top of
the p-type semiconductor layer.

These electrodes do not obstruct light to reach the thin p-type layer. Just below the p-type
layer there is a p-n junction. We also provide a current collecting electrode at the bottom of
the n-type layer. We encapsulate the entire assembly by thin glass to protect the solar cell
from any mechanical shock.

Working Principle of Solar Cell

When light reaches the p-n junction, the light photons can easily enter in the junction,
through very thin p-type layer. The light energy, in the form of photons, supplies sufficient
energy to the junction to create a number of electron-hole pairs. The incident light breaks the
thermal equilibrium condition of the junction. The free electrons in the depletion region can
quickly come to the n-type side of the junction.
Similarly, the holes in the depletion can quickly come to the p-type side of the junction.
Once, the newly created free electrons come to the n-type side, cannot further cross the
junction because of barrier potential of the junction.

Similarly, the newly created holes once come to the p-type side cannot further cross the
junction became of same barrier potential of the junction. As the concentration of electrons
becomes higher in one side, i.e. n-type side of the junction and concentration of holes
becomes more in another side, i.e. the p-type side of the junction, the p-n junction will behave
like a small battery cell. A voltage is set up which is known as photo voltage. If we connect a
small load across the junction, there will be a tiny current flowing through it.

V-I Characteristics of a Photovoltaic Cell

Materials Used in Solar Cell

The materials which are used for this purpose must have band gap close to 1.5ev. Commonly
used materials are-

1. Silicon.
2. GaAs.
3. CdTe.
4. CuInSe2.
Criteria for Materials to be Used in Solar Cell
1. Must have band gap from 1ev to 1.8ev.
2. It must have high optical absorption.
3. It must have high electrical conductivity.
4. The raw material must be available in abundance and the cost of the material
must be low.
Advantages of Solar Cell
1. No pollution associated with it.
2. It must last for a long time.
 3. No maintenance cost.
Disadvantages of Solar Cell
1. It has high cost of installation.
2. It has low efficiency.
3. During cloudy day, the energy cannot be produced and also at night we will
not get solar energy.
Uses of Solar Generation Systems
1. It may be used to charge batteries.
2. Used in light meters.
3. It is used to power calculators and wrist watches.
4. It can be used in spacecraft to provide electrical energy.

Conclusion:
Though solar cell has some disadvantage associated it, but the disadvantages are expected to
overcome as the technology advances, since the technology is advancing, the cost of solar
plates, as well as the installation cost, will decrease down so that everybody can effort to
install the system. Furthermore, the government is laying much emphasis on the solar energy
so after some years we may expect that every household and every electrical system is
powered by solar or the renewable energy source.
Light-emitting diode (LED) is a widely used standard source of light in electrical equipment.
It has a wide range of applications ranging from your mobile phone to large advertising
billboards. They mostly find applications in devices that show the time and display different
types of data.

What is LED?

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric
current flows through it. When current passes through an LED, the electrons recombine with
holes emitting light in the process. LEDs allow the current to flow in the forward direction
and blocks the current in the reverse direction.

Light-emitting diodes are heavily doped p-n junctions. Based on the semiconductor material
used and the amount of doping, an LED will emit coloured light at a particular spectral
wavelength when forward biased. As shown in the figure, an LED is encapsulated with a
transparent cover so that emitted light can come out.

The LED symbol is the standard symbol for a diode, with the addition of two small arrows
denoting the emission of light.
Simple LED Circuit

The circuit consists of an LED, a voltage supply, and a resistor to regulate the current and voltage.

How does an LED work?

When the diode is forward biased, the minority electrons are sent from p → n while the
minority holes are sent from n → p. At the junction boundary, the concentration of minority
carriers increases. The excess minority carriers at the junction recombine with the majority
charges carriers.
The energy is released in the form of photons on recombination. In standard diodes, the
energy is released in the form of heat. But in light-emitting diodes, the energy is released in
the form of photons. We call this phenomenon electroluminescence. Electroluminescence is
an optical phenomenon, and electrical phenomenon where a material emits light in response
to an electric current passed through it. As the forward voltage increases, the intensity of the
light increases and reaches a maximum.

What determines the colour of an LED?

The colour of an LED is determined by the material used in the semiconducting element. The
two primary materials used in LEDs are aluminium gallium indium phosphide alloys and
indium gallium nitride alloys. Aluminium alloys are used to obtain red, orange and yellow
light, and indium alloys are used to get green, blue and white light. Slight changes in the
composition of these alloys change the colour of the emitted light.

Uses of LED

LEDs find applications in various fields, including optical communication, alarm and security
systems, remote-controlled operations, robotics, etc. It finds usage in many areas because of
its long-lasting capability, low power requirements, swift response time, and fast switching
capabilities. Below are a few standards LED uses:

 Used for TV back-lighting

  Used in displays

 Used in Automotives

 LEDs used in the dimming of lights

Types of LED

Below is the list of different types of LED that are designed using semiconductors:

 Miniature LEDs

 High-Power LEDs

 Flash LED

 Bi and Tri-Colour

 Red Green Blue LEDs

 Alphanumeric LED

 Lighting LED

Advantages of LEDs over Incandescent Power Lamps

Some advantages of LEDs over Incandescent Power Lamps are:

 LEDs consume less power, and they require low operational voltage.

 No warm-up time is needed for LEDs.

 The emitted light is monochromatic.

 They exhibit long life and ruggedness.

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs): Organic light emitting diodes (devices) or
OLEDs are monolithic, solid-state devices that typically consist of a series of organic thin
films sandwiched between two thin-film conductive electrodes. When electricity is applied to
an OLED, under the influence of an electrical field, charge carriers (holes and electrons)
migrate from the electrodes into the organic thin films until they recombine in the emissive
zone forming excitons. Once formed, these excitons, or excited states, relax to a lower energy
level by giving off light (electroluminescence) and/or unwanted heat. The basic OLED cell
structure consists of a stack of thin organic layers sandwiched between a conducting anode
and a conducting cathode. Breakdown of an OLED structure:

 Substrate (can be plastic, glass, or metal foil) – Foundation of the OLED

 Anode (may or may not be transparent depending on the type of OLED) – Positively
charged to injects holes (absence of electrons) into the organic layers that make up the
OLED device

 Hole Injection Layer (HIL) – Deposited on top of the anode this layer receives holes
from the anode and injects them deeper into the device

 Hole Transport Layer (HTL) – This layer supports the transport of holes across it so
they can reach the emissive layer

 Emissive Layer – The heart of the device and where light is made, the emissive layer
consists of a color defining emitter doped into a host. This is the layer where the
electrical energy is directly converted into light.
 Blocking layer (BL) – Commonly used to improve OLED technology by confining
electrons (charge carriers) to the emissive layer

 Electron Transport Layer (ETL) – Supports the transport of electrons across it so they
can reach the emissive layer.

 Cathode (may or may not be transparent depending on the type of OLED) –

Negatively charged to inject electrons into the organic layers that make up the OLED
device.
To generate red, green and blue light to render full-color images, there are two main
approaches currently being used. The first is to pattern red, green and blue OLED sub-pixels
in each pixel of the display, as shown below. This is generally the preferred approach for
high-resolution mobile displays.

RGB OLED side-by-side