Res. Agr. Eng., 2017, 63(1):10-15 | DOI: 10.17221/38/2015-RAE

Temperature changes of I-V characteristics of photovoltaic cells as a consequence of the Fermi energy level shiftOriginal Paper

Martin Libra*, Vladislav Poulek, Pavel Kouřím
Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

Current voltage (I-V) characteristic of illuminated photovoltaic (PV) cell varies with temperature changes. The effect is explained according to the solid state theory. The higher the temperature, the lower the open-circuit voltage and the higher the short-circuit current. This behaviour is explained on the basis of band theory of the solid state physics. The increasing temperature causes a narrowing of the forbidden gap and a shift of the Fermi energy level toward the centre of the forbidden gap. Both these effects lead to a reduction of the potential barrier in the band diagram of the illuminated PN junction, and thus to a decrease of the photovoltaic voltage. In addition, narrowing of the forbidden gap causes higher generation of electron-hole pairs in the illuminated PN junction and short-circuit current increases.

Keywords: PV cell; energy band structure; PN junction; semiconductor diode; I-V characteristics

Published: March 31, 2017  Show citation

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Libra M, Poulek V, Kouřím P. Temperature changes of I-V characteristics of photovoltaic cells as a consequence of the Fermi energy level shift. Res. Agr. Eng. 2017;63(1):10-15. doi: 10.17221/38/2015-RAE.
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