Question

The material selected for solar cell fabrication has :
A) Band gap $\left( {1.0{\text{ to }}1.8{\text{eV}}} \right)$.
B) High optical absorption$\left( {{{10}^4}{\text{c}}{{\text{m}}^{ - 1}}} \right)$.
C) Electrical conductivity.
D) Band gap $\left( {0.4{\text{ to }}1.{\text{eV}}} \right)$.

Answer 1

The material selected for the solar cell fabrication should have a band gap of a certain range so that the capturing of light is effective also the band gap should in such a range that the incident light ray should excite the electrons present in the material which helps in conversion of the light energy into electrical energy.

Step by step solution:
Crystalline silicon is selected for solar fabrication having a band gap of $1.7 - 1.8e{\text{V}}$ also crystalline silicon has high quality of light absorption and as it is a semiconductor therefore it has electrical conductivity.
So the material selected has band gap$\left( {1.0{\text{ to }}1.8{\text{eV}}} \right)$, high optical absorption $\left( {{{10}^4}{\text{c}}{{\text{m}}^{ - 1}}} \right)$ and also has electrical conductivity. So the correct answer to this problem is more than one.

The correct option to this problem is option A,B and C.

Additional information: The phenomenon of conversion of light energy into electrical energy is known as photovoltaic effect. When an incident light falls on the solar cell the conversion of light energy into electrical energy takes place. There are two types of semiconductor known to us p-type and n-type when a junction of these two semiconductors are made and a light ray falls on it then the value electrons get excited from and move from its original place and there is flow of current that takes place.

Note: The material selected is crystalline silicon because of the favorable band gap and also the high absorption of the material for incident light. The silicon material forms semiconductors and then these semiconductors are used as solar cells which help us to capture the useful energy and convert it into electrical energy.