A photovoltaic (PV) cell generates an electron flow from the energy of sunlight using semiconductor materials, typically silicon. The basic principles of a PV cell are shown in Figure 1 and explained below. The cell contains two different types of silicon: A so-called n-type, which has extra electrons and a p-type with extra spaces. As the voltage of a single solar cell is only around 0.6 V, multiple cells are normally connected in series to increase the voltage to a level suitable for the. In order to compare solar panels from different manufacturers, the main technical parameters are measured under so-called standard test conditions. Image by Tssenthi from Wikipedia, CC-BY-SA license, link(opens new window) El Tayyan, Ahmed A.: A simple method to extract the parameters of the single-diode model of a PV system. Turkish Journal of Physics, 2013, link(opens. A solar cell has the same inner structure as a diode, as it consists of a p-n junction. So, the basis for modeling the behavior of a solar cell is a diode DDD. The sunlight is modelled as a photo.
