What happens if the incident photon energy is less than the band gap of material?

When the photon energy is less than the band gap, the absorption is really small, while for energies above the band gap, photon absorption cre- ates electron-hole pairs.

When a semiconductor solar cell absorbs a photon with energy exceeding the semiconductor band gap what happens to the excess energy?

All Answers (7) In case of a photon hitting a semiconductor, the energy of the photon will create an electron-hole pair. So, if the energy of the photon is greater than the band gap of the semiconductor, it will create an electron-hole pair.

How does the band gap influence the energy absorption?

If the band gap is too high, most daylight photons cannot be absorbed; if it is too low, then most photons have much more energy than necessary to excite electrons across the band gap, and the rest is wasted.

Which of the following has the lowest band gap?

Indium antimonide has a band gap of 0.

What is the energy of a photon equal to?

A photon is a particlelike packet of electromagnetic energy. The energy E of a photon is equal to hv = hc/λ, where v is the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation and λ is its wavelength.

What happens if a photon has too much energy?

In case the photon with energy higher than the band gap (so called energy difference) the extra energy is absorbed by the electron and emitted back in the form of phonons into the lattice of the material. This process is called as thermalization. source and atom dethatching allows higher frequency to be absorbed.

What color has the highest photon energy?

violet
Red has the lowest energy and violet the highest.

What happens to photons with the band gap?

Photons with energy equal to the band gap energy are absorbed to create free electrons. Photons with less energy than the band gap energy pass through the material. In a semiconductor, such as silicon, the band gap is the energy difference between the highest valence band and the lowest conduction band.

Can a semiconductor absorb energy less than the band gap?

A semiconductor will not absorb photons of energy less than the band gap; and the energy of the electron-hole pair produced by a photon is equal to the bandgap energy.

How big is the band gap in photovoltaic?

The band gap energies of other effective photovoltaic semiconductors range from 1.0 to 1.6 eV. In this range, electrons can be freed without creating extra heat. The photon energy of light varies according to the different wavelengths of the light.

When does a photon become a minority carrier?

When the energy of a photon is equal to or greater than the band gap of the material, the photon is absorbed by the material and excites an electron into the conduction band. Both a minority and majority carrier are generated when a photon is absorbed.