Incident Light — Light that shines onto the face of a solar cell or module.
Indium Oxide — A wide band gap semiconductor that can be heavily doped with tin to make a highly conductive,
transparent thin film. Often used as a front contact or one component of a heterojunction solar cell.
Infrared Radiation — Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 micrometer to 1000
micrometers; invisible long wavelength radiation (heat) capable of producing a thermal or photovoltaic effect,
though less effective than visible light.
Input Voltage — This is determined by the total power required by the alternating current loads and the voltage
of any direct current loads. Generally, the larger the load, the higher the inverter input voltage. This keeps the
current at levels where switches and other components are readily available.
Insolation — The solar power density incident on a surface of stated area and orientation, usually expressed as
Watts per square meter or Btu per square foot per hour. See diffuse insolation and direct insolation.
Interconnect — A conductor within a module or other means of connection that provides an electrical
interconnection between the solar cells.
Intrinsic Layer — A layer of semiconductor material, used in a photovoltaic device, whose properties are
essentially those of the pure, undoped, material.
Intrinsic Semiconductor — An undoped semiconductor.
Inverter — A device that converts direct current electricity to alternating current either for stand-alone systems or
to supply power to an electricity grid.
Ion — An electrically charged atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained electrons; a loss makes the
resulting particle positively charged; a gain makes the particle negatively charged.
Irradiance — The direct, diffuse, and reflected solar radiation that strikes a surface. Usually expressed in
kilowatts per square meter. Irradiance multiplied by time equals insolation.
ISPRA Guidelines — Guidelines for the assessment of photovoltaic power plants, published by the Joint
Research Centre of the Commission of the European Communities, Ispra, Italy.
I-Type Semiconductor — Semiconductor material that is left intrinsic, or undoped so that the concentration of
charge carriers is characteristic of the material itself rather than of added impurities.
I-V Curve — A graphical presentation of the current versus the voltage from a photovoltaic device as the load is
increased from the short circuit (no load) condition to the open circuit (maximum voltage) condition. The shape of
the curve characterizes cell performance.
J
Joule — A metric unit of energy or work; 1 joule per second equals 1 watt or 0.737 foot-pounds; 1 Btu equals
1,055 joules.
Junction — A region of transition between semiconductor layers, such as a p/n junction, which goes from a
region that has a high concentration of acceptors (p-type) to one that has a high concentration of donors (n-
type).
Junction Box — A photovoltaic (PV) generator junction box is an enclosure on the module where PV strings are
electrically connected and where protection devices can be located, if necessary.
Junction Diode — A semiconductor device with a junction and a built-in potential that passes current better in
one direction than the other. All solar cells are junction diodes.
K
Kilowatt (kW) — A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1000 watts, or to the energy consumption at a rate
of 1000 joules per second.
Kilowatt-Hour (kWh) — 1,000 thousand watts acting over a period of 1 hour. The kWh is a unit of energy. 1
kWh=3600 kJ.
Indium Oxide — A wide band gap semiconductor that can be heavily doped with tin to make a highly conductive,
transparent thin film. Often used as a front contact or one component of a heterojunction solar cell.
Infrared Radiation — Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 micrometer to 1000
micrometers; invisible long wavelength radiation (heat) capable of producing a thermal or photovoltaic effect,
though less effective than visible light.
Input Voltage — This is determined by the total power required by the alternating current loads and the voltage
of any direct current loads. Generally, the larger the load, the higher the inverter input voltage. This keeps the
current at levels where switches and other components are readily available.
Insolation — The solar power density incident on a surface of stated area and orientation, usually expressed as
Watts per square meter or Btu per square foot per hour. See diffuse insolation and direct insolation.
Interconnect — A conductor within a module or other means of connection that provides an electrical
interconnection between the solar cells.
Intrinsic Layer — A layer of semiconductor material, used in a photovoltaic device, whose properties are
essentially those of the pure, undoped, material.
Intrinsic Semiconductor — An undoped semiconductor.
Inverter — A device that converts direct current electricity to alternating current either for stand-alone systems or
to supply power to an electricity grid.
Ion — An electrically charged atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained electrons; a loss makes the
resulting particle positively charged; a gain makes the particle negatively charged.
Irradiance — The direct, diffuse, and reflected solar radiation that strikes a surface. Usually expressed in
kilowatts per square meter. Irradiance multiplied by time equals insolation.
ISPRA Guidelines — Guidelines for the assessment of photovoltaic power plants, published by the Joint
Research Centre of the Commission of the European Communities, Ispra, Italy.
I-Type Semiconductor — Semiconductor material that is left intrinsic, or undoped so that the concentration of
charge carriers is characteristic of the material itself rather than of added impurities.
I-V Curve — A graphical presentation of the current versus the voltage from a photovoltaic device as the load is
increased from the short circuit (no load) condition to the open circuit (maximum voltage) condition. The shape of
the curve characterizes cell performance.
J
Joule — A metric unit of energy or work; 1 joule per second equals 1 watt or 0.737 foot-pounds; 1 Btu equals
1,055 joules.
Junction — A region of transition between semiconductor layers, such as a p/n junction, which goes from a
region that has a high concentration of acceptors (p-type) to one that has a high concentration of donors (n-
type).
Junction Box — A photovoltaic (PV) generator junction box is an enclosure on the module where PV strings are
electrically connected and where protection devices can be located, if necessary.
Junction Diode — A semiconductor device with a junction and a built-in potential that passes current better in
one direction than the other. All solar cells are junction diodes.
K
Kilowatt (kW) — A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1000 watts, or to the energy consumption at a rate
of 1000 joules per second.
Kilowatt-Hour (kWh) — 1,000 thousand watts acting over a period of 1 hour. The kWh is a unit of energy. 1
kWh=3600 kJ.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
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