SOLARCELLS USING NANOTECHNOLOGY

A technical seminar report submitted to JNTU KAKINADA UNIVERSITY In the partial fulfillment of requirement in degree of Bachelor of Technology In Electronics and Communication Engineering Submitted by K.VENKATA SRINIVAS(08F01A0445) Under the esteemed guidance of Mr. G.NAGANJANEYULU M.Tech

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering ST.ANNS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY CHIRALA

ABSTRACT

Current solar power technology has little chance to compete with fossil fuels or large electric grids. Todays solar cells are simply not efficient enough and are currently too expensive to manufacture for large-scale electricity generation. However, potential advancements in nanotechnology may open the door to the production of cheaper and slightly more efficient solar cells.

First, I would like to examine the current solar cell technologies available and then look at their drawbacks. Then I will explore the research field of nano solar cells, and the science behind them. Finally, I will consider the implications that these technologies would have on our society. Before introducing new solar products which use

nanotechnology, it is necessary to explain the basic process that a normal solar cell uses.

CONTENTS

SOLAR ENERGY SOLAR CELL DRAW BACKS NANO TECHNOLOGY IN SOLAR CELL ADVANTAGES EMBEDDED IN SOLAR APPLICATIONS REFERENCES

SOLAR ENERGY
Every day, the sun radiates (sends out) an enormous amount of energycalled solar energy. It radiates more energy in one second than the world has used since time began. This energy comes from within the sun itself. Like most stars, the sun is a big gas ball made up mostly of hydrogen and helium gas. The sun makes energy in its inner core in a process called nuclear fusion. It takes the suns energy just a little over eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles to Earth. Solar energy travels at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light. Only a small part of the radiant energy that the sun emits into space ever reaches the Earth, but that is more than enough to supply all our energy needs. Every day enough solar energy reaches the Earth to supply our nations energy needs for a year! Solar energy is considered a renewable energy source.

SOLAR CELL

Conventional solar cells are called photovoltaic cells. These cells are made out of semiconducting material, usually silicon. When light hits the cells, they absorb energy though photons. This absorbed energy knocks out electrons in the silicon, allowing them to flow. By adding different impurities to the silicon such as phosphorus or boron, an electric field can be established. This electric field acts as a diode, because it only allows electrons to flow in one direction . Photovoltaic comes from the words photo meaning light and volt, a measurement of electricity. Sometimes photovoltaic cells are called PV cells or solar cells for short. You are probably familiar with photovoltaic cells. Solar-powered toys, calculators, and roadside telephone call boxes all use solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity. Solar cells are made up of silicon, the same substance that makes up sand. Silicon is the second most common substance on Earth. Solar cells can supply energy to anything that is powered by batteries or electrical power.

Consequently, the end result is a current of electrons, better known to us as electricity.

DRAW BACKS
Conventional solar cells have two main drawbacks: they can only achieve efficiencies around ten percent and they are expensive to manufacture. The first drawback, inefficiency, is almost unavoidable with silicon cells. This is because the incoming photons, or light, must have the right energy, called the band gap energy, to knock out an electron. If the photon has less energy than the band gap energy then it will pass through. If it has more energy than the band gap, then that extra energy will be wasted as heat. Scott Aldous, an engineer for the North Carolina Solar Center explains that, These

two effects alone account for the loss of around 70 percent of the radiation energy incident on the cell(Consequently, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the maximum efficiency achieved today is only around 25 percent (Ref 4). Mass-produced solar cells are much less efficient than this, and usually achieve only ten percent efficiency.

NANO TECHNOLOGY IN SOLAR CELL

Picture of a solar cell, which utilizes nanorods to convert light into electricity These new plastic solar cells utilize tiny nanorods dispersed within in a polymer. The nanorods behave as wires because when they absorb light of a specific wavelength they generate electrons. These electrons flow through the nanorods until they reach the aluminum electrode where they are combined to form a current and are used as electricity

Diagram of a nano solar cell

This type of cell is cheaper to manufacture than conventional ones for two main reasons.

ADVANTAGES
First, these plastic cells are not made from silicon, which can be very expensive. Second, manufacturing of these cells does not require expensive equipment such as clean rooms or vacuum chambers like conventional silicon based solar cells. Instead, these plastic cells can be manufactured in a beaker. UC Berkeley graduate student Wendy Huynh says, We use a much dirtier process, and that makes it cheap(Ref. 5).

EMBEDDED IN SOLAR
Embedded computers are ideal for use with intelligent solar management systems. Important features include: 1. Compact size: Compared with traditional industrial PCs, embedded computers are compact enough to fit in small cabinets. 2. Robust design: Embedded computers are fan-less, cable-less, and instead of using a hard disc, they use CompactFlash cards instead. This kind of rugged design helps ensure that the entire system will operate reliably 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 3. Low power consumption and pre-built OS: Embedded computers are designed to be used with specific applications. In general, an embedded computer executes only 1 or 2 functions, and the pre-built operating system helps engineers develop specific applications based on the computing platform. With their compact size and all-in-one feature, embedded computers consume less power compared with traditional industrial PCs.

4. Fit for harsh environments: The robust design of embedded computers makes it possible to use them in hazardous environments, such as deserts and rain forests.

APPLICATIONS

used in solar water disinfection,small scale solarpower sewerage treatment plant and in many real time applications.

Another potential feature of these solar cells is that the nanorods could be tuned to absorb various wavelengths of light. This could significantly increase the efficiency of the solar cell because more of the incident light could be utilized. According to a 2001 report, The Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, by the National Science Foundation, if the efficiency of photovoltaic cells was improved by a factor of two using nanotechnology, The role of solar energy would grow substantially(Ref. 6). In addition to the University of California Berkeley, a well-known company named Konarka Technologies is also pursuing the use of nanotechnology to improve solar energy. In fact, they are already manufacturing a product called, Power Plastic which absorbs both sunlight and indoor light and converts it into electricity. For patent

reasons, their technology is kept secret, but the basic concept is that Power Plastic is made using nanoscale titanium dioxide particles coated in photovoltaic dyes, which generate electricity when they absorb light. According to Engineer Magazine, Konarka has already, built fully functional solar cells that have achieved efficiencies of around 8%(Ref. 3). Future designs are already underway which includes tuning the nanorods to absorb certain wavelengths of light in order to exploit a greater range of the color spectrum. Improvements such as this could make it possible to manufacture inexpensive solar cells with the same efficiency as current technology. Since the manufacturing cost of conventional solar cells is one of the biggest drawbacks, this new technology could have some impressive effects on our daily lives. Although this new technology is only capable of supplying low power devices with sufficient energy, its implications on society would still be tremendous. It would help preserve the environment, decrease soldiers carrying loads, provide electricity for rural areas, and have a wide array of commercial applications due to its wireless capabilities. Now I will examine each of these implications in further detail. Inexpensive solar cells, which would utilize nanotechnology, would help preserve the environment. According to Engineer Magazine, Konarka Technologies is already proposing, coating existing roofing materials with its plastic photovoltaic cells (Ref. 3). If it were inexpensive enough to cover a homes entire roof with solar cells, then enough energy could be captured to power almost the entire house. If many houses did this then our dependence on the electric grid (fossil fuels)

would decrease and help reduce pollution. Some people have even proposed covering cars with solar cells or making solar cell windows. Even though their efficiency is not very great, if solar cells were inexpensive, then enough of them could be used to generate sufficient electricity.New technology in solar cells would also have military implications. The U.S. Army has already hired Konarka Technologies to help design a better way to power their soldiers electrical devices. According to Daniel McGahn, Konarkas executive vice president, "A regular field soldier carries 1.5 pounds of batteries now. A special operations soldier has a longer time out, has to carry 140 pounds of equipment, 60 to 70 pounds of which are batteries (Ref. 2)." If

nanotechnology could be used to create inexpensive and reasonably efficient solar cells, it would greatly improve soldiers mobility. Inexpensive solar cells would also help provide electricity for rural areas or third world countries. Since the electricity demand in these areas is not high, and the areas are so distantly spaced out, it is not practical to connect them to an electrical grid. However, this is an ideal situation for solar energy. If it were inexpensive enough, it could be used for lighting, hot water, medical devices, and even cooking (Ref. 2). It would greatly improve the standard of living for millions, possibly even billions of people! Finally, inexpensive solar cells could also revolutionize the electronics industry. Solar cells could be imbedded into clothing and be programmed to work for both indoor light and sunlight. In fact, Konarka Technologies has already begun developing a photovoltaic fabric that could be woven into clothing (Ref. 3). For the first time, our

electronics would be truly wireless, and we wouldnt have to plug them into an outlet at night to recharge them. Consequently, even though conventional solar cells are expensive and cannot yet achieve high efficiency, it may be possible to lower the manufacturing costs using nanotechnology. Institutions such as the

University of California Berkeley and Konarka Technologies are actively pursuing ways to make this happen. Although solar cells are not efficient enough to replace large-scale electric grids, there are many opportunities for them to be used for low power devices. The effects that a low cost, reasonably efficient (low power) solar cell would have on society are tremendous. It would help preserve the environment, protect soldiers, provide rural areas with electricity, and transform the electronics industry. These dramatic effects, which would all be a result of nanotechnology, would greatly change and even improve society. This student-produced report is part of a larger pamphlet on nanotechnologies circa 2005, the partial output of a course on Nanotechnology and Society (Science and Technology Studies, Section 84405, by C. Tahan) which was taught in the spring semester of 2005 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

References
1. Aldous, Scott. How Solar Cells Work. How Stuff Works. 22 May 2005.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/solar-cell1.htm>. 2. Choi, Charles. Nanotech Improving Energy Options. Space Daily. New York: May 27, 2004. <http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-04zj.html>. 3. Power Plastic. Engineer Magazine. March 8, 2005. <http://www.konarkatech.com/news_and_events/konarka_articles/2005/3_m arch/the_engineer/ power_plastics_mar8.php>. 4. Paul Preuss. An unexpected discovery could yield a full spectrum solar cell. Research News. Berkeley Lab. 18 November 2002.

<http://www.lbl.gov/ScienceArticles/Archive/MSD-full-spectrum-solar-cell.html>. 5. Sanders, Bob. Cheap, Plastic Solar Cells May Be On The Horizon. UC Berkeley Campus News. 28 March 2002. <http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2002/03/28_solar.html>. 6. Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. National Science Foundation. March 2001.

<http://www.wtec.org/loyola/nano/societalimpact/nanosi.pdf>.