The type of semiconductors used in your solar panels probably are not on top of your list when you check for a solar panel to buy compared to power output, efficiency and how they look on your roof, but there is something to it for those who are curious enough.
Lets dive into it. The conductivity of semiconductors (Silicon & Germanium) can be adjusted by putting a small number of impurities into their crystal structures. This impurity leads to better conductivity among semiconductors. Impurities based on the number of valence electrons could be n-type (5) or p-type (3).
What is an n-type semiconductor?
The n-type tends to be a better choice due to reducing LID (Light Induced Degradation) & increasing durability and performance compared to the p-type.
n-type: Silicon with 5 valence electrons impurities produces n-type semiconductors in which one extra electron contributes to increasing the electrical conductivity of the semiconductor.
Donor impurities donate negatively charged electrons to the lattice, so a semiconductor that has been doped with a donor is called an n-type semiconductor; “n” stands for negative. (source: LiberText Engineering).
What is a p-type semiconductor?
In a p-type semiconductors or 3 valence electrons, impurities doped in silicon would result in one hole, which is simply due to lack of electrons in the valence band of the semiconductor and DADAAAAA a positive charge. Therefore this type of semiconductor is called p-type, where p stands for Positive. Brinign this into reality, a small portion of impurity has many atoms, therefore, it results in millions of holes – which are the positive charge carriers – in the semiconductor (Source: Wevolver).
Examples of elements with 5 valence electrons in the valence band are antimony, arsenic, or phosphorus and with 3 valence electrons are boron, aluminum, or gallium.
What are semiconductors?
Semiconductors are typically made of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), and gallium arsenide (GaAs). They are a type of element that have special properties such as electrical conductivity and falling resistance when exposed to rising temperatures. As a result of these properties, they are placed between two main kinds of elements, conductors and insulators. Conductors have great electrical conductivity, copper, for instance, and their resistance increases when their temperatures rise. Contrary to conductors, insulators, such as glass, have low resistance when their temperatures go up but they are not good at electrical conductivity.
How does semiconductors work?
Semiconductors work due to an imbalance of electrons that carry negative charge. This imbalance of electrons leads to positive (where there are excess protons) and negative charges (where there are excess electrons) at two ends of the surfaces of the semiconductor material. This is how semiconductor works (Source: Electronics & You).
Did you know?
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- Monthly, Best solar panels sorted by high efficiency of the PV panels.
- Quarterly, Top 10 solar panels for industrial-scale, 72 cells (Q1,2,3,4)
We also publish another similar article on our wind energy website ” Windedition.com ” titled :
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