The document describes a student group's presentation on measuring the I-V characteristics of a solar cell illuminated by an incandescent lamp at different frequencies. It provides background on solar cells, including their construction, working principle, and key parameters like short circuit current, open circuit voltage, and maximum power point. The group's experiment procedure and apparatus are outlined, along with safety precautions. Potential applications of solar cells and pros and cons of solar energy are also discussed.

1. M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 1

2. G R O U P N O # 0 2
1) M.Hassnain Haider (leader)
2) Ahamd Elahii
3) Junaid Anwar
4) Shazaib Asghar
5) Rafaqat Khokhar
6) Umer Khalil

3. P R E S E N TAT I O N T I T L E
I-V Characteristics of a Solar Cell illuminated by an incandescent lamp, at different frequencies

4. W H A T I S
S O L A R C E L L ?
Solar cell is also called as photovoltaic cell and this is a
device which converts light energy into electrical energy by
using photovoltaic effect. Solar cell is basically a normal PN
Junction diode
4

5. C O N S T R U C T I O N
O F S O L A R
C E L L :
It consists of N type and P type semiconductor material. N
type is highly doped and P type is lightly doped. Top and
bottom is of conducting electrode to collect the current. The
bottom is fully covered with the conductive layer and top
layer is not fully covered because the sun rays should not be
fully blocked. Since semiconductors are reflective in nature,
antireflective coating is used. The whole arrangement is
kept inside a thin glass to avoid mechanical shock
5

6. W O R K I N G O F
S O L A R C E L L :
The working of solar cell is based on photovoltaic effect. It is
a effect in which current or voltage is generated when
exposed to light. Through this effect solar cells convert
sunlight into electrical energy.
A depletion layer is formed at the junction of the N type and P
type semiconductor material. When light energy of the sun
rays falls on the solar panel, the photons which is the small
bundle of energy whose energy is higher than the energy
gap gives energy to the electrons and holes in the depletion
region. The electrons and holes move to the higher level
which is the conduction band. The electrons move towards N
type and holes move towards P type and they act as a
battery. So this movement of electrons and holes forms the
electric current
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7. D I A G R A M
Working of Solar cell
7

8. S H O R T C I R C U I T C U R R E N T ( 𝑰 𝒔 𝒄 )
• Initially when load resistance 𝑅𝑖 is kept minimum , the maximum
current flows in the circuit. When the load is zero (𝑅𝑖 →0), maximum
current is known as Short Circuit Current
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9. VA R I AT I O N O F I W I T H V
• As the load resistance is increased, the voltage across the load resistance 𝑅𝑖
increases and the current started decreasing.
• When the load is maximum (𝑅𝑖 → ∞), the current is very small and the voltage across
the load is maximum
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 9

10. O P E N C I R C U I T V O LTA G E ( 𝑽 𝒐 𝒄 )
• Ideally When the circuit is open, voltage is max and current is zero. This max
voltage is Open Circuit Voltage.
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 10

11. T H E F I L L FA C T O R :
• The "fill factor", more commonly known by its abbreviation "FF", is a parameter which, in
conjunction with Voc and Isc, determines the maximum power from a solar cell. The FF is defined
as the ratio of the maximum power from the solar cell to the product of Voc and Isc so that:
• Maximum useful power obtained experimentally: 𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 × 𝑉
𝑚𝑎𝑥
• Ideal power output from the cell: 𝑃𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 = 𝐼𝑠𝑐 × 𝑉
𝑜𝑐
• Fill Factor =
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑟
𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
=
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑃𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙
=
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥×𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐼𝑠𝑐×𝑉𝑜𝑐
• The max useful power obtained experimentally is always less then the ideal max power, the
value of FF is usually less than one. Usually the value of FF is round 60-70%.
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 11

12. E F F I C I E N C Y O F S O L A R C E L L :
• Efficiency of Solar cell is defined as the Ratio of energy output from the solar cell
to input energy from the sun. ղ=
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥×𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
• Usually the voltage developed by a solar cell is of the order of 0.6V and the
efficiency of conversion is about 15-21% for silicon cells.
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 12

13. V - I
C H A R A C T E R I S T I C
S O F S O L A R
C E L L :
Isc is the short circuit current and it is measured by short
circuiting the terminals. Voc is the open circuit voltage
and it is measured when no load is connected. Pm is
maximum power, Im is maximum current, Vm is
maximum voltage and it occurs at the bend of the
characteristic curve.
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 13

14. S O L A R C E L L
T O S O L A R
F A R M :
Solar cell is the basic building module and it is in
octagonal shape and in bluish black colour. Each cell
produces 0.5 voltage. 36 to 60 solar cells in 9 to 10
rows of solar cells are joined together to form a
solar panel. For commercial use upto 72 cells are
connected. By increasing the number of cells the
wattage and voltage can be increased. The
thickness of solar panel is in the range 2.5 to 4cm.
Many modules together form the solar array.
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 14

15. A P PA R AT U S :
• 1. Solar cell
• 2. Incandescent amp with power
supply
• 3. Potentiometer
• 4. Optical filters
• 5. Multimeters
• 6. Optical bench and clamp
• 7. Connecting wires
M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 , 2 0 X X 15

16. P R O C E D U R E :
• 1. Connect the solar cell to the potentiometer and multimeters as shown in
Fig.2. Set the potentiometer at the minimum.
• 2. Connect the incandescent lamp with its power supply. Switch on the
lamp and adjust further so that maximum area of the solar cell can be
illuminated. Record the distance between the lamp and the solar cell.
• 3. Vary the potentiometer and record the values of current and voltage
across the solar cell, keeping the supply voltage to the lamp fixed. Now
attach a filter to the lamp and record I and V values for each filter from the
filter set.

17. P R O C E D U R E :
• 4. Plot I-V curve for each frequency and estimate short circuit current,
no load voltage. Determine the maximum power output at the turning
points on the curves (marked by a circle in Fig. 3).
• 5. Plot the maximum power as a function of different filter wavelength.
• 6. Repeat the same above procedure by replacing the lamp with
sunlight.
• 7. Compare the spectral response of Si solar cell with the spectrum of
lamp and sun.

18. O B S E R VAT I O N S :
• OBSERVATIONS: Table 1: I-V characteristics of solar cell illuminated incandescent lamp

19. P R E C A U T I O N S :
1.The solar cell should be exposed to sun light before using it in the
experiment. Light from the lamp should fall normally on the cell.
2.safe operating limit.A resistance in the cell circuit should be
introduced so that the current does not exceed.
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20. S I G N I F I C A N C E O F S O L A R C E L L
• Solar cells produce direct current electricity from the sun's rays,
which can be used to power equipment or to recharge batteries. Many
pocket calculators incorporate a single solar cell, but for larger
applications, cells are generally grouped together to form PV modules
that are in turn arranged in solar arrays
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21. P R O S A N D C O N S O F S O L A R E N E R G Y
• Advantages:
• Renewable Energy Source, Reduce Electricity Bills, Diverse
Applications, Low Maintenance Cost, Environmental Friendly
• Disadvantages:
• Cost, Weather Dependent, Solar Energy Storage is Expansive, Use a
Lot of Space
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22. Sample
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