Table of Contents
Why silicon and germanium is used in solar cell?
Germanium has a lower bandgap than Silicon. GaAs is a direct bandgap semiconductor unlike Silicon. Still Silicon is preferred over these two, for making solar cells.
Which element is used in solar cells?
Silicon
Silicon. Silicon is, by far, the most common semiconductor material used in solar cells, representing approximately 95\% of the modules sold today.
What materials produce solar cells?
Crystalline silicon
Crystalline silicon is the most common material used in solar cells. The lifespan of crystalline silicon cells is more than 25 years without deterioration, making it ideal for industrial solar power generation.
What do you use germanium for?
In addition to its applications in electronic devices, germanium is used as a component of alloys and in phosphors for fluorescent lamps. Because germanium is transparent to infrared radiation, it is employed in equipment used for detecting and measuring such radiation, such as windows and lenses.
Why is silicon used in solar PV?
A number of PV cells aggregated in a confined panel act as a collector of solar energy. Silicon semiconductors are popular because they exhibit properties such as low weight volume ratio, extended life cycle, robustness and strength. Silicon semiconductors are easy to produce at low cost.
What wavelength do solar cells absorb?
Most of the solar energy falling on Earth has wavelengths of wavelengths of 250nm to 2500nm. Specifically, this layered cell is much better at collecting those longer wavelengths of light into the infrared. Those have less energy than shorter wavelengths, but there’s a lot of it.
What wavelength of light do solar panels use?
However, solar panels don’t respond to all wavelengths within the solar radiation spectrum. Namely, solar cells work best when exposed to wavelengths in the red to violet range. By contrast, infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths have too little and too much energy, respectively, to power solar cells.
Is germanium a good conductor of electricity?
Pure silicon and germanium are poor conductors of electricity because their outer electrons are tied up in the covalent bonds of the diamondlike framework. They are not conductors in the metallic sense of the word, but are semiconductors.
Is germanium a semiconductor of heat and electricity?
In addition, it is important to note that germanium is a semiconductor, with electrical properties between those of a metal and an insulator. In its pure state, this metalloid is crystalline, brittle and retains its lustre in air at room temperature.