Shockley-Queisser limit (source code)

= Shockley-Queisser limit
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{wiki=Shockley–Queisser_limit}

The <Shockley-Queisser limit> is the radiative conversion-efficiency bound for an ideal single-junction <solar cell>, with one collected <Electron>-<electron hole> pair per absorbed above-gap <photon>, carrier thermalization, and <radiative recombination> required by the reverse optical process. Photons below the <band gap> are not absorbed, while excess photon <energy> above it is thermalized. Maximizing the electrical <power> over the operating <electric potential difference> and then the <band gap> gives a ceiling of roughly thirty percent for ordinary unconcentrated sunlight; its precise value depends on the incident spectrum, cell <temperature> and emission geometry. The original calculation by <William Shockley> and <Hans-Joachim Queisser> obtained approximately $30\%$ at $1.1\,\mathrm{eV}$ for a $6000\,\mathrm K$ <blackbody> source and a cell at $300\,\mathrm K$.<Detailed Balance Limit of Efficiency of p-n Junction Solar Cells by William Shockley and Hans-Joachim Queisser>[p.510, abstract: "maximum efficiency is found to be 30%"; band gap 1.1 eV, blackbody source 6000 K, cell 300 K, radiative fraction equal to one]{ref}