Upper limit for the conversion of solar energy

Abstract

A semiconductor in the solar radiation field acts as a thermal electronic engine. It converts absorbed radiation heat into chemical energy of the excited electron-hole gas. In flow equilibrium, a homogeneous semiconductor gives off this chemical energy by radiative recombination to the surroundings. If provision is made, as by a p-n junction, to divert the excited electrons and holes, before they recombine, from their point of generation, their chemical energy may be converted into electrical energy. The ratio of this chemical energy current, which constitutes an upper limit for the obtainable electrical energy current, to the absorbed heat current is computed as a function of the value of the bandgap of the semiconductor. Under the assumption that the absorptivity of the electron-hole system of the semiconductor is unity for photon energies larger than the bandgap and zero for smaller photon energies, the conversion efficiency for unfocussed sunlight has a maximum of 30 percent for a bandgap of 1:3 eV.