Objectives

Find the solar cell characteristics:
Ideal power (PI), maximum power (Pmax),fill factor (FF),efficiency (ƞ) and load resistance (RL)

Apparatus

1- Solar cell
2- Variable resistor
3- 2 Digital multimeter (1 ammeter, 1voltmeter)
4- Light source
5- Breadboard
6- Connecting wires

Theory

A Solar cell, also called photovoltaic cell, any device that directly converts the energy of light into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. The solar cell is a semiconductor PN junction diode, normally without an external bias, that provides electrical to a load when illuminated.

Short circuit current, Isc, flows with zero external resistance (V= 0) and is the maximum current delivered by the solar cell at any illumination level. Similarly, the open circuit voltage, Voc, is the potential that develops across the terminals of the solar cell when the external load resistance is very large (Figure 2) . The power delivered to the load is of course zero at both extremes and reaches a maximum (Pmax)
at a finite load resistance value . In Figure 2, Pmax is shown as the area of the shaded rectangle .
A commonly used number that characterizes the solar cell is the fill factor, FF, which is defined as the ratio of Pmax to the area of the rectangle formed by Voc and Isc .

Procedure