Photovoltaic cells are found everywhere today: your home, work buildings, schools, and more. There are two types of Photovoltaic Cells: Organic and Inorganic. The type of cell that are most often found and used are inorganic cells. Inorganic cells are known to produce much more energy than organic cells. Although the main element used in these inorganic cells is Silicon, there are many more elements that are used in inorganic photovoltaic cells. There is monocrystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, and microcrystalline Si, the III-V compounds and alloys, CdTe, and the chalcopyrite compound, copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). These photovoltaic cells are built for large scale power generations. All of these semiconductors have energy band gaps between 1.1-1.7 eV. The use of Crystalline Si cells have continued to increase, but the polycrystalline has shown much more potential. Crystalline cells have an indirect band gap energy*. This results in the low optical absorption coefficient. Because of this, the wafers used in the structure needs to be greater than 200µm so that it can absorb the incident light. There is also the problem of the high resistivity of the screen printed Ag grids, high contact resistance between the grid and Si, and also a reduce in the efficiency of the device down to approximately 14%. The Crystalline Si cells are found to have a need for a concentrator system for the cell to be able to produce its full potential. Multicrystalline cells have the advantage of using its growth which reduces the cost, rises the throughput, has less sensitivity, and also raises the density of the cells to make a module because of its rectangular shape. These cells, however, result in lower efficiencies than those made from ... ... middle of paper ... ...and is less expensive than indium tin oxide. All of these points help the conductive glass become more convenient to this experiment. Like all experiments, this contains numerous amounts of theories. The goal of this section of this paper is to explain such theories that exist in this world today. You might ask- what does this have to do with that or how does this affect that- this paper is also written to give you an explanation of the procedure that will take place in this experiment and to provide you knowledge needed when doing this experiment. All these theories shall be explained in the steps that were taken to successfully complete this experiment. Works Cited http://chemistry.beloit.edu/classes/nanotech/solar/mattoday10_11_20.pdf (Forbes) http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/30952.pdf (Dubay) http://www.solar-facts-and-advice.com/cadmium-telluride.html (SBI)
Solid A was identified to be sodium chloride, solid B was identified to be sucrose, and Solid C was identified to be corn starch. Within the Information Chart – Mystery White Solid Lab there are results that distinguishes itself from the other 4 experimental results within each test. Such as: the high conductivity and high melting point of sodium chloride, and the iodine reaction of corn starch. Solid A is an ionic compound due to its high melting point and high electrical conductivity (7), within the Information Chart – Mystery White Solid Lab there is only one ionic compound which is sodium chloride, with the test results of Solid A, it can be concluded that is a sodium chloride. Solid B was identified as sucrose due to its low electrical
In September 1959 DiVita asked 2nd Lt. Richard Sturzebecher if he knew of a way to produce a strong glass fiber that would be capable of carrying a light signal. Sturzebecher had melted 3 triaxil glass systems together for his senior exam at Alfred University. In his exam, Sturzebecher had used SiO2, a glass powder produced by Corning. Whenever he had tried to look at the substance through a microscope he would end up with headache. Sturzebecher realized that these headaches came from the high amounts of white light produced from the microscopes light that was reflected through the eyepiece via the SiO2. SiO2 would be an ideal substance for transmitting strong light signals if it could be developed into a strong fibre.
In the search engine “Google dictionary” the author announces, “Fuel cell: a cell producing an electric current directly from a chemical reaction.” Fuel cells were thought of in 1839 by Sir William Grove who was known as “Father of the Fuel Cell.” In the article “History of
Crookes tubes are glass vacuum chambers that contain a positive electrode (anode) and a negative electrode (cathode). When an electrical current is passed between the electrodes of one of the tubes, a glow can be seen in the chamber. It is now known that the glow is due to the interaction of electrons, which travel from the cathode to the anode, with residual gas present in the device.”
Rough trials showed the following: · Using the thin layer polycrystalline cell, I found that pressing contacts onto the surface of the cell scratched it, so I taped wire pickups onto the top and bottom with transparent tape, as shown on the pictures. I noticed that the readings obtained for the current produced by the cell were inconsistent between ammeters (see Experiment Five). I therefore changed my method for the amorphous and monocrystalline cells and used the voltage readings and the
The most important optical characteristics of a glass are its refractive index and its degree of dispersion.
The mixed alkali effect in the glass materials has been the subject of study in the recent years. Many properties of glasses show non linear behaviour of exhibiting a minimum or maximum, as a function of alkali content, if one of the alkali ions is gradually replaced by another alkali keeping total alkali content constant. This behaviour is called mixed alkali effect. The general formula for mixed alkali oxide glass is y[x.A2O + (1-x) B2O] + (1-y) glass former, where A and B are alkalis. The extent of departure from linearity, the direction of variation (positive or negative) depends on the property examined and the glass system. The behavior of mixed alkali effect is independent of glass forming oxides. It is being observed in silicates, borates, phosphates, germanates, tellurites, boro alluminate, alumino silicates, borotellurate etc., glasses. It is also observed that properties related to cationic movement are more sensitive to mixed alkali effect [1-3].
Polman, H., Orobio De Castro, B. & Van Aken, M. A.G. (2008). Experimental Study of the
Photovoltaic electrical energy is the result of the “photoelectric effect”, a phenomena that occurs when metals are exposed to sunlight. The photovoltaic effect results in both a voltage and a current, the two ingredients for electricity’s generation. This is defined as a clean energy mechanism as the source of the energy is the sun and results in electrical energy being generated without the “products of combustion: Carbon Dioxide CO2” as is the case with fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil). It’s ad...
A Photovoltaic solar cell (PVSC) is an electrical device which converts light from the visible spectrum into direct current (DC) electricity (Honsberg). The International Space Station (ISS) originally used purified silicon solar cells for electrical generation. Silicon cells were primarily used as a result of their relatively light weight and heat conduction properties (Wittry, 2005). In 2001, two 38ft x 239ft solar panels were installed on the ISS. The new cells were multi junction solar cells comprised of gallium indium phosphate on gallium arsenide on germanium. The germanium based cell resists oxidation, unlike its silicon oxide counterpart that experienced degradation in the upper atmosphere due to exposure to oxygen (Wiebusch, 2001). Furthermore, the Silicon based solar cell (deployed on the
Although Solar Energy is a flexible source of where energy could be directly or indirectly converted into forms of energy, it’s still not perfect. With its inefficiency, scientists are trying to find alternative solution to store solar cells for as long as possible. The main process of capturing solar energy happens at the nanoscale. With solar cells, it gets more efficient the tinier it gets. The converting rate of solar energy is equally price competitive as fossil fuel, with a dollar per watt of solar energy. With the help of nanotechnology, it could help raise solar energy conversion efficiency and help lower costs making it the ultimate method of raw energy conversion. To make sure the process of generating energy is kept at a low cost and energy output...
The slicing of single crystal silicon heralded the use of a combination of chemical and mechanical polishing in semiconductors, and as such, is considered an old technology. Planar or specular surfaces are required for the manufacture of transistors and require a polish process that can produce such a finish13.
In this experiment, our aim is examining the microstructure of metals. By studying microscopic structures of metals, we determine which material fits best to a given application. We used the most common method, optical technique, to examine the microstructure.
Solar Cell Experiment Aim: To see how individual factors affect the output of a solar cell. Factors affecting the output of a solar cell: This experiment is going to be performed in the confines of a school laboratory, and so the complexity and cost of the experiment(s) should reflect this. However, to see how different factors affect the solar cell output, I will need to perform at least two experiments. The question is, which ones? · Distance from the light source will affect the solar cell output, because intensity of light on the solar cell will decrease, the further away from the light the cell is.
I am certain that all have heard of the terms green house gases, fossil fuels, and global warming. Have you ever questioned what will happen if nothing is done about the environmental problems facing the world today? What if I answer you that, we can merely use the power from the sun to power up our entire planet without the use of harmful energy sources, which affect our atmosphere? The power from the sun is what we call solar power. Solar power is the energy that comes from the sun as light and heat energy, and then it is later converted into electrical energy through solar panels (Nelson, 2008). This kind of power is completely free, right? Why should we put a lot of expense on other sources of energy, when there is a complete free and healthy power? It is evident that solar energy is a healthy source of energy, which will help stop global warming all together, but it is economically efficient to switch everything to solar energy. Solar energy is capable of becoming the world's future power supply because, it is renewable, eco-friendly, and extremely efficient when strategically placed.