Question

How does a photovoltaic cell work?

Answer 1

The "photovoltaic effect" is the basic physical process through which a PV cell converts sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is composed of photons, or particles of solar energy. These photons contain various amounts of energy corresponding to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum. When photons strike a PV cell, they may be reflected or absorbed, or they may pass right through. Only the absorbed photons generate electricity. When this happens, the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of the cell (which is actually a semiconductor). With its newfound energy, the electron is able to escape from its normal position associated with that atom to become part of the current in an electrical circuit. By leaving this position, the electron causes a "hole" to form. Special electrical properties of the PV cell—a built-in electric field—provide the voltage needed to drive the current through an external load (such as a light bulb).

Answer 2

I'm planning on doing an experiment with a photocell (And monochromatic linearly polarized light of different frequencies and intensities), but everything I see is related to the photoelectric effect. Isn't there an alternate explanation for how they work, using waves instead of particles?

I'm thinking about using the irradiance given by the Poynting Vector with the efficiency of a solar cell to calculate the energy of light of different frequencies. If that's valid, the only problem I have is that I'm not sure of how these factors relate, or how I'm supposed to obtain them from the voltage given by the cell.

Answer 3

That probably didn't help :/ Sorry

Answer 4

That's actually the first time I hear about the photovoltaic effect. O: So yaythanks for making me learn something new! :D
I assume it's the same thing as the photoelectric effect but in terms of voltage, right?

Also, Is there an equation that gives the probability for a packet of photons hitting the electrons of a photocell in terms of it's area and what it's made of? Maybe I could relate that equation to the efficiency of a photocell.

Answer 5

Haha Umm I'm not exactly sure about any of this. I just found a article on the web and pasted it here thinking it would help you. I haven't leaned about any of this stuff yet. So I'm not really sure but I wish you luck, and hope everything goes well and that you reach success. :)

Answer 6

But I'm sure @beccaboo333 and @Compassionate can help you! :)

Answer 7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoelectric_effect

Answer 8

Oh. That's okay, It's really hard to find some useful information about photocells. D: Thanks for trying, though. :>

Answer 9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

Answer 10

The effiency of a photovoltaic cell is about 30% - 10% . Which is though electrons are freed its hard to make electricity from it. so they use ..semi conducters to pressure electrons from outward to the surface. I dnt remember clearly though.