First-principles study on the role of silicon point defects on PERC solar cell degradation

Abstract

One of the causes of decrease in the performance of silicon-based solar pannels is linked to light and elevated temperature induced degradation (LeTID). Even if experimental evidence shows that different defects in the bulk material of the modules are involved in the mechanisms behind LeTID, its origins remain unresolved. First-principles methods result in powerful tools to understand this degradation at the nano and microscopic levels. In the present work we propose an approach to model LeTID precursor mechanisms by using ab initio methodology.