V. P. Kostylyov, A. V. Sachenko, M. Evstigneev, I. O. Sokolovskyi, A. I. Shkrebtii
{"title":"Characterization and optimization of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells","authors":"V. P. Kostylyov, A. V. Sachenko, M. Evstigneev, I. O. Sokolovskyi, A. I. Shkrebtii","doi":"arxiv-2409.01101","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Since the photoconversion efficiency $\\eta$ of the silicon-based solar cells\n(SCs) under laboratory conditions is approaching the theoretical fundamental\nlimit, further improvement of their performance requires theoretical modeling\nand/or numerical simulation to optimize the SCs parameters and design. The\nexisting numerical approaches to modeling and optimization of the key\nparameters of high-efficiency solar cells based on monocrystalline silicon\n(c-Si), the dominant material in photovoltaics, are described. It is shown\nthat, in addition to the four usually considered recombination processes,\nnamely, Shockley-Read-Hall, surface, radiative, and band-to-band Auger\nrecombination mechanisms, the non-radiative exciton Auger recombination and\nrecombination in the space charge region (SCR) have to be included. To develop\nthe analytical SC characterization formalism, we proposed a simple expression\nto model the wavelength-dependent external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the\nphotocurrent near the absorption edge. Based on this parameterization, the\ntheory developed allows for calculating and optimizing the base\nthickness-dependent short-circuit current, the open-circuit voltage, and the SC\nphotoconversion efficiency. We proved that the approach to optimize the solar\ncell parameters, especially its thickness and the base doping level, is\naccurate and demonstrated for the two Si solar cells reported in the\nliterature, one with an efficiency of 26.7 % and the other with the record\nefficiency of 26.81 %. It is shown that the formalism developed allows further\noptimization of the solar cell thickness and doping level, thus increasing the\nSC efficiency to an even higher value.","PeriodicalId":501211,"journal":{"name":"arXiv - PHYS - Other Condensed Matter","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"arXiv - PHYS - Other Condensed Matter","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/arxiv-2409.01101","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Since the photoconversion efficiency $\eta$ of the silicon-based solar cells
(SCs) under laboratory conditions is approaching the theoretical fundamental
limit, further improvement of their performance requires theoretical modeling
and/or numerical simulation to optimize the SCs parameters and design. The
existing numerical approaches to modeling and optimization of the key
parameters of high-efficiency solar cells based on monocrystalline silicon
(c-Si), the dominant material in photovoltaics, are described. It is shown
that, in addition to the four usually considered recombination processes,
namely, Shockley-Read-Hall, surface, radiative, and band-to-band Auger
recombination mechanisms, the non-radiative exciton Auger recombination and
recombination in the space charge region (SCR) have to be included. To develop
the analytical SC characterization formalism, we proposed a simple expression
to model the wavelength-dependent external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the
photocurrent near the absorption edge. Based on this parameterization, the
theory developed allows for calculating and optimizing the base
thickness-dependent short-circuit current, the open-circuit voltage, and the SC
photoconversion efficiency. We proved that the approach to optimize the solar
cell parameters, especially its thickness and the base doping level, is
accurate and demonstrated for the two Si solar cells reported in the
literature, one with an efficiency of 26.7 % and the other with the record
efficiency of 26.81 %. It is shown that the formalism developed allows further
optimization of the solar cell thickness and doping level, thus increasing the
SC efficiency to an even higher value.