The Photoelectric Effect
In 1839, Edmond Becquerel discovered the process of using sunlight to produce an electric current in a solid material. But it took more than another century to truly understand this process. Scientists eventually learned that the photoelectric or photovoltaic (PV) effect caused certain materials to convert light energy into electrical energy at the atomic level.
Light Energy Science
The color of light is related to its frequency. The frequency of light is related to its energy by the formula: E = hf = hc λ
In this formula, h is a constant, c is the speed of light, f is the frequency of the light, and λ is the wavelength of the light. The frequency of a color is directly proportional to its energy whereas the wavelength of a color is inversely proportional to its energy. Red has the least energy, and based on the formula above, a low frequency but relatively long wavelength; UV has a higher frequency and a relatively shorter wavelength.
The different colors of light can be arranged according to wavelength, frequency, or energy. From lowest energy to highest, the colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, ultraviolet. That is, red has the least energy and ultraviolet has the highest energy. (A well known acronym to remember this order is ROY G BIV: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.)
Sunlight contains a lot of infrared and ultraviolet as well as all other colors. Some people think heat is a different form of energy from light. Both are forms of electromagnetic radiation and both can provide energy for homes. Since most infrared and ultraviolet are blocked by Earth’s atmosphere, solar energy, whether it is used to heat water or is converted to electricity in a PV cell, comes from the visible part of sunlight.
Scientists have given a name to the standard spectrum of sunlight at the Earth's surface: AM1.5G (where G stands for "global" - all radiation) or AM1.5D (which includes direct radiation only). The number "1.5" indicates that the length of the path of light through the atmosphere is 1.5 times that of the shorter path when the sun is directly overhead.
The standard spectrum outside the Earth's atmosphere is called AM0, with no light passing through the atmosphere. AM0 is typically used to predict the expected performance of PV cells in space. The intensity of AM1.5D radiation is approximated by reducing the AM0 spectrum by 28%, where 18% is absorbed and 10% is scattered. The global spectrum is 10% greater than the direct spectrum. These calculations give about 970 W/m2 for AM1.5G. However, the standard AM1.5G spectrum is "normalized" to give 1000 W/m2, because of inherent variations in incident solar radiation.
Photons
The photoelectric effect is the basic physical process by which a PV cell converts sunlight into electricity. When light shines on a PV cell, it may be reflected, absorbed, or pass right through. But only the absorbed light generates electricity.
The energy of the absorbed light is transferred to electrons in the atoms of the PV cell. With their newfound energy, these electrons escape from their normal positions in the atoms of the semiconductor PV material and become part of the electrical flow, or current, in an electrical circuit. A special electrical property of the PV cell—what we call a "built-in electric field"—provides the force, or voltage, needed to drive the current through an external "load," such as a light bulb.
To induce the built-in electric field within a PV cell, two layers of somewhat differing semiconductor materials are placed in contact with one another. One layer is an "n-type" semiconductor with an abundance of electrons, which have a negative electrical charge. The other layer is a "p-type" semiconductor with an abundance of "holes," which have a positive electrical charge.
Although both materials are electrically neutral, n-type silicon has excess electrons and p-type silicon has excess holes. Sandwiching these together creates a p/n junction at their interface, thereby creating an electric field.
When n- and p-type silicon come into contact, excess electrons move from the n-type side to the p-type side. The result is a buildup of positive charge along the n-type side of the interface and a buildup of negative charge along the p-type side.
Because of the flow of electrons and holes, the two semiconductors behave like a battery, creating an electric field at the surface where they meet—what we call the p/n junction. The electrical field causes the electrons to move from the semiconductor toward the negative surface, where they become available to the electrical circuit. At the same time, the holes move in the opposite direction, toward the positive surface, where they await incoming electrons.
How do we make the p-type ("positive") and n-type ("negative") silicon materials that will eventually become the photovoltaic (PV) cells that produce solar electricity? Most commonly, we add an element to the silicon that either has an extra electron or lacks an electron. This process of adding another element is called doping.
