Course Description

This course is designed for students from all disciplines in engineering and science seeking to learn about how solar cells function, how they are connected into modules, how modules are assembled into panels, and how panels are fielded in solar farms. The basics of solar farms are covered as well as the reliability of solar cells. The course is at the advanced undergraduate / and beginning graduate student level.

Prerequisites and Learning Objectives

ECE 305 or ECE 606 (Semiconductor Device Fundamentals) or ECE 69500A (Primer on Semiconductor Fundamentals) or equivalent. You will find these courses posted at nanohub.org. After you complete this course, you will have completed the following learning objectives: 

1. An ability to estimate the maximum efficiency of ideal and nonideal solar cells.
2. An understanding of the operation of a solar cell and of how solar cells are interconnected in panels.
3. An ability to estimate the cost and performance of grid-connected and stand-alone PV systems. 
4. An understanding of the key reliability issues for photovoltaic systems.

Text and Reference Books

M.A. Alam and M. R. Khan, “Physics of Solar Cells: An Atoms-to-Farm Perspective,” (manuscript). 

Martin A. Green, Solar Cells: Operating Principles, Technology and System Applications, Prentice-Hall, 1986. ISBN-13: 978-0138222703

Konrad Mertens "Photovoltaics Fundamentals, Technology, and Practice" Wiley, 2018. ISBN-13: 978- 1119401049

Lectures and Quizzes

Additional Resources 

• A previous version of the course is posted here. 
• PVHub page contains a collection of simulation tools, seminars, and recent papers from the Purdue PV group that cover all aspects of solar cell design. PVLighthouse also contains a useful set of calculators. 
• PVEducation is a widely used resource page for the PV community. 
• Department of Energy laboratories (Sandia, NREL) maintain excellent resource pages as well.