2.627 | Fall 2013 | Undergraduate

Fundamentals of Photovoltaics

Course Description

Fundamentals of photoelectric conversion: charge excitation, conduction, separation, and collection. Lectures cover commercial and emerging photovoltaic technologies and cross-cutting themes, including conversion efficiencies, loss mechanisms, characterization, manufacturing, systems, reliability, life-cycle analysis, …

Fundamentals of photoelectric conversion: charge excitation, conduction, separation, and collection. Lectures cover commercial and emerging photovoltaic technologies and cross-cutting themes, including conversion efficiencies, loss mechanisms, characterization, manufacturing, systems, reliability, life-cycle analysis, risk analysis, and technology evolution in the context of markets, policies, society, and environment.

This course is one of many OCW Energy Courses, and it is an elective subject in MIT’s undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute–wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.

Learning Resource Types
Lecture Videos
Tutorial Videos
Problem Sets
Lecture Notes
Projects with Examples
Problem Sets with Solutions
Cross-section schematic diagram of photovoltaic cell, showing different layers and the electron-hole pair.
A cross-section view of a generic solar cell. (Courtesy of PVCDROM. Used with permission.)