In the photoelectric effect, an electron is ejected from the material. I.e, it is raised from the highest occupied state to the vacuum level.

In the photovoltaic effect, an electron is excited to a higher energy state but stays in the material. To actually get a PV effect you then also need an assymetrical device so electrons go one way and holes go the other way to give you the photovoltage.

In the photoelectric effect, an electron is ejected from the material. I.e, it is raised from the highest occupied state to the vacuum level.

In the photovoltaic effect, an electron is excited to a higher energy state but stays in the material. To actually get a PV effect you then also need an assymetrical device so electrons go one way and holes go the other way to give you the photovoltage.

The main difference between the two processes is that in the photoelectric effect, the electrons are emitted to the space whereas, in photovoltaic effect, the emitted electrons directly enter a new material upon emission.

Both processes are almost the same. Both phenomenon involve the absorption of photons by the electrons. However, in photoelectric effect the electrons, after absorption of photon, no longer remain in the same material rather they are emitted into the space (you might wonder why the surface of metal shines upon incident light) whereas in photovoltaic effect, the electron remains in the same material, just creates a difference of potential across the terminal of a solar cell.

Manuel Schnabel has explained it nicely,but I would like to add my observation that photoelectric effect is a pure physics concept which basically shows interaction of a photon(remember that the 'photon' fully become photon after  the application of the idea of 'quanta of radiation' to the PE-effect by Einstein, as it was used by Planck to explain cavity radiation) to a loosely bounded electron to its atom.However, photovoltaic effect is a kind of applicaion(though it had been discovered in early 1880 before PE-effect) of PE-effect,since because of PE-effect we are sure how a photon is interacting to an electron not because of photovoltaic effect.

Can anyone help me with a reference where I can find this info, please?

What is the exact difference between photoelectric effect and photovoltaic effect? Answer:

My answer is complementing the five answers given above. A photoelectric cell (strictly called a photoemissive cell) consists of a light-sensitive photocathode and an anode inside a vacuum glass or quartz envelope. When the incident light falls on the cathode and if the energy of the photon exceeds the work function(W) or binding energy of the electron in a particular shell of the atom of the cathode material, electrons are released from the shell of the atom and escape to the vacuum. The excess energy i.e., hv - W is given to the KE of the electron. These cathodes are selected out of special materials sensitive to the wavelength of light(UV, Visible, Red or Infra red). A saturation voltage required to attract all electrons is applied between the electrodes and a photocurrent flows in the external circuit. The current is proportional to the light intensity. The probability of electron emission is maximum when the incident photon energy JUST exceeds the binding energy and falls off with increasing energy.

In the photovoltaic cell (say silicon), a PN junction is used. Here a depletion layer, several microns thick, is formed in the region between the junctions because of the crossing of the holes and electrons, forming a depletion voltage (of about 0.6 V). Just like in photoelectric phenomenon, here too, the incident photon energy shining on the sensitive depletion layer has to exceed the band gap of silicon(1.1eV). These cells can be used in the photovoltaic mode where the open circuit voltage (with no load) developed between the PN layers is measured or in the short circuit current mode where the cell current with near-zero external resistance is measured. It can be shown that the short circuit current is LINEARLY related to the incident intensity whereas the open circuit voltage is a logarithmic function of the incident intensity. In silicon solar cells, we only measure the short circuit current which can be ideally measured by using an operational amplifier with virtual ground. This is also linear to the area of the junction. Please note the sensitive square/rectangular/circular depletion area is located just below the transparent layer on the surface. The depletion layer thickness can be increased by applying a reverse bias voltage but this technique is employed only for detecting and spectrometry of x-rays, charged particles, etc. We generally discuss PE in terms of atomic shell electrons. But photovoltaic effect is discussed based on the band theory of solids, using the concepts of valence band, forbidden band and conduction band and the flow of electrons and holes. This is a wide field of solid state physics.

There is a third method of light detection based on photoconductivity.

For light and x-ray detection using PN junctions, please refer to our papers available in my RG website.

The main difference between the two processes is that in the photoelectric effect, the electrons are emitted to the space whereas, in photovoltaic effect, the emitted electrons directly enter a new material.

• In the photoelectric effect, the electrons are emitted into a vacuum space whereas, in photovoltaic effect, the electrons directly enter another material upon emission. • Photovoltaic effect is observed between two metals that are in conjunction with each other in a solution but photoelectric effect takes place in a cathode ray tube with the participation of a cathode and an anode connected via an external circuit. • The occurrence of the photoelectric effect is more difficult when compared to the photovoltaic effect. • The kinetic energy of the emitted electrons plays a big role in the current produced by photoelectric effect whereas it is not so important in the case of the photovoltaic effect. • The emitted electrons via the photovoltaic effect are pushed through a junction potential in contrast to the photoelectric effect where there is no junction potential involved.

Mr Ibrahim: Will u please give the journal or textual references to ur figures given above? Thank you.

Thank you very much Sankaran Ananthanarayanan Sir and Ibrahim Alghoraibi Sir for your valuable information and explanation