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Courses/Engineering/Energy Management

Fundamentals of Photovoltaics

This course includes an overview of progress in the field; basic information about the photovoltaic effect...

Created byHarlan Bengtson, PhD, PE
4.4
(47 reviews)
BeginnerUpdated Jan 12, 2025
Fundamentals of Photovoltaics

What You'll Learn

check_circleUnderstand the photovoltaic effect and how it converts sunlight into electricity, including the role of charge carriers and doping in silicon.
check_circleLearn about the types, components, and production processes of various solar cells, including single-crystal, polycrystalline, thin-film, and gallium arsenide cells.
check_circleExplore the design and construction of PV modules and arrays, and the differences between flat-plate and concentrating solar collectors.
check_circleFamiliarize with the components of a solar PV system, including the "balance of systems," and their role in efficient energy conversion and usage.

About This Course

The use of photovoltaic systems for converting sunlight into electricity has been expanding rapidly. This course includes an overview of progress in the field; basic information about the photovoltaic effect; discussion of several different types of solar cells, including single-crystal silicon, semicrystalline and polycrystalline silicon, thin-film solar cells, gallium arsenide PV cells, and multifunction devices; and information about modules, arrays and systems of solar PV cells.

Topics: Familiarizing with the photovoltaic effect and how it can be used to convert sunlight into electricity Knowing the atomic description of silicon Learning how light absorption creates charge carriers Understanding how doping is used to create n-type and p-type silicon Understanding the relationship between energy band gap level and type of solar radiation absorbed Learning about the components of single crystal silicon cells Familiarizing with the processes used to produce single crystal silicon cells Learning about the components of semicrystalline and polycrystalline silicon cells Familiarizing with the processes used to produce semicrystalline and polycrystalline silicon cells Learning about the components of thin-film solar cells Familiarizing with the processes used to produce thin-film solar cells Understanding Gallium Arsenide solar cells and how they are produced Learning about the multi-junction devices and how they are produced Understanding the method of producing PV modules from single crystal silicon cells Understanding the method of producing PV modules for thin-film solar cells Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of flat-plate collectors as compared with concentrating solar collectors Learning about the components of a solar PV system that are part of the “balance of systems”.

Intended Audience: energy, civil, mechanical, construction, and electrical engineers, and would be of particular interest to engineers concerned with the design, maintenance and construction of PV solar components.

Publication Source: US Dept. of Energy

Your Instructor

Harlan Bengtson, PhD, PE
Harlan Bengtson, PhD, PE
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star2,706 reviews

Dr. Harlan Bengtson is an online PDH course provider of continuing education courses for professional engineers. Dr. Bengtson is a graduate of Iowa State University with B.S. and M.S. degrees and of the University of Colorado with a PhD. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri. Dr. Bengtson has spent 30 years in engineering education in teaching and administrative positions, including six years as Dean of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr. Harlan H. Bengtson, PE 33 Grainey Drive Glen Carbon, IL 62034 Phone: (618) 406-6892 E-mail: hnkbengtson@yahoo.com PROFESSIONAL PROFILE Dr. Bengtson is a graduate of Iowa State University with B.S. and M.S. degrees and of the University of Colorado with a PhD. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri. He has spent 30 years in engineering education in teaching and administrative positions, including six years as Dean of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His areas of expertise are environmental engineering, hydrology and hydraulics, engineering science and renewable energy systems. He has done regular consulting work while holding the academic positions. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Bengtson worked for Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing as a Product Development Engineer and for E. I. duPont deNemours as a Process Development Engineer. Dr. Bengtson has authored numerous publications, presentations and technical reports. He is currently active as a freelance technical writer, author of continuing education courses for Professional Engineers, and is the founder of www.engineeringexceltemplates.com and www.EngineeringExcelSpreadsheets.com, sites with the objective of providing inexpensive, easy to use Excel spreadsheets for a variety of engineering calculations.

Credit Information

Do these courses count toward my professional development requirements?

This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.

If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.

What Students Are Saying

4.4
Student's Choice
47 reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 327+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 29 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.