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A new solar cell simulator: WxAMPS

Article in Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference · June 2011
DOI: 10.1109/PVSC.2011.6186517

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 A NEW SOLAR CELL SIMULATOR: wxAMPS
1,2 2 2
Yiming Liu , Dan Heinzel , and Angus Rockett
1
Institute of Photo-Electronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Nankai University,
Tianjin 300071, P.R. China
2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois,
1304 W. Green St., Urbana Illinois 61801, USA

ABSTRACT are enhanced as functions of electric fields. The latest

A new solar cell simulation program, wxAMPS, is
presented in this work. The interface of wxAMPS is
developed using a cross-platform library, wxWidgets, and
the kernel is based on an updated version of the AMPS
(Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures) code.
wxAMPS incorporates two different tunneling models for
better simulation of specific types of solar cells. Compared
to the drift-diffusion model, the intra-band tunneling model
provides more realistic characteristics for heterojunction
solar cells. The other tunneling component is trap-assisted
tunneling current, which plays an important role in
tunneling recombination at junctions. To increase the
convergence property of this model, a new algorithm that
combines the Newton method and the Gummel method
has been developed. The simulation results from different
models are compared. A preliminary WIKI has also been
set up, which provides a database of materials parameters
for various kinds of solar cells to help the PV community
share materials data and more easily implement
simulations.
runnable version can be obtained at the WIKI website.
UPDATED FEATURES
Interface
The main user interface (Figure 1) is almost the same as
the version described previously [1] with the exception of a
“Settings” section under the Run button, allowing users to
switch the tunneling models and adjust numerical
parameters. In the “Settings” dialog box, users can set up
upper limit of iteration times, the convergence precision
and the clamping range that is the maximum variables
change in one iteration. The variables variation is clamped
in order to avoid the overestimation generated by the
Newton method.

OVERVIEW

The wxAMPS program is a newly developed solar cell

simulation software based on the original AMPS (Analysis
of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures) code.[1] The
graphical user interface (GUI) of wxAMPS is designed with
a cross-platform C++ library, wxWidgets, and allows quick
data entry as well as enhanced visualization of results for
comparison and analysis. The main physical principles are
derived from AMPS [2] and in addition two different
tunneling models, intra-band tunneling [3] and trap-
assisted tunneling [4], are incorporated to the program.
The algorithm of wxAMPS has been modified to combine
the Newton and Gummel methods, which improves
convergence and stability. The effects of series and shunt
resistance unrelated to the main diode are also added.
A database-oriented WIKI [5] has been set up for sharing
the simulation files of devices and helping users find and
discuss the parameters used in solar cell simulations.
wxAMPS is a good tool to simulate various kinds and
structures of solar cells, which can be made from
crystalline and amorphous Si material, as well as CdTe
and CIGS thin films, and other materials. Tandem-
structured solar cells can also be simulated through using
the trap-assisted tunneling model in which carrier motilities
Figure 1 Main user interface of wxAMPS
Another improvement is in the ambient dialog box where
the bias voltages of interest can be loaded from a user-
customized text file. The ambient conditions configured
previously by the user are cached automatically to help
reduce the time spent tweaking the simulation
environment.
Among these settings, smaller voltage steps and clamping
ranges can help improve the convergence property for a
specific model, but at a cost of longer calculation time.
Two additional slide bars have been added to the results
dialog box in order to allow users to modify the values of
the series and shunt resistances (Figure 2). Upon
adjustment of the slide bars, a new current-voltage curve
is calculated and displayed and new device parameters
are obtained. The revised results and the new curve are
updated simultaneously when changing the slide bars of
the shunt and series resistances.
 bias voltage. In the current version, the values calculated
during the each simulation step are cached so as to be
accessible to the user.

The convergence speed is mostly determined by the

performance of the third step. In the case of low
recombination rates, the Gummel method converges fast
and wxAMPS consumes less time than AMPS does. In the
case of high recombination rates, the Gummel method
may need more iterations to attain the model results when
the intra-band tunneling current is added. However, in the
trap-assisted model the third step is not required, which
makes the calculation much faster.
Figure 2 Display dialog box for simulation results and
analysis Results

Algorithm Modifications To compare the simulation differences between these

models, a baseline CIGS solar cell [6] was simulated.
The Gummel method was used in our previous version of
wxAMPS to solve the intra-band tunneling current model.
Its range of convergence is broad, and it works well on
solar cells with low densities of defect states, such as
CIGS and CdTe solar cells. However, it encounters
difficulty when treating solar cells with high recombination
rates, like amorphous Si solar cells. This leads to heavy
coupling of the three basic semiconductor equations
(Poisson’s equation and the continuity equations for
electrons and holes), which causes divergence issues.
The Newton method is able to solve the strong coupling
situation, but makes it difficult to add the intra-band
tunneling current into the model for the complicated
Jacobian matrix [1], and proper initial values are also
important to the convergence.

To solve these mentioned problems, a new algorithm

combining the Newton and Gummel methods has been
developed. At first, the variables (local vacuum levels and
quasi-Fermi levels for electrons and holes) are initialized
through a few Gummel iteration steps. Second, a solution Figure 3 Dark IV curves derived from three models
is found by using the Newton method in which the drift-
diffusion model is used but the intra-band tunneling effect The simulated results of the three models were very close,
is not considered. The solution obtained in the second as seen from Figures 3 and 4. In the dark IV curves, there
step is then used as input for the final calculation, is only a little difference at high voltage bias, where the
employing the Gummel method to add the effects of intra-
current of the intra-band tunneling model is slightly lower.
band tunneling current.
This is because large currents will be limited by the
thermionic emission mechanism in the intra-band
The trap-assisted tunneling model can be implemented in tunneling model [7]. Large currents will lead to significant
the Newton method, so the first two steps are enough to
discontinuities of quasi-Fermi levels at the heterojunction
achieve the solutions for this model.
interfaces in the intra-band tunneling model, which is
different from that quasi-Fermi levels at interfaces are
SIMULATION COMPARISON
continuous in the drift-diffusion model.
Performance
In the light condition of Figure 4, the current-voltage
curves predicted by these models are indistinguishable.
The Gummel iterations in the first step of the algorithm
This is a result of low working currents and weak electric
provide more stability for the convergence of the program.
fields in the device. In the intra-band tunneling model,
Because of the better-initialized guess, wxAMPS works in
these low currents will not be limited by thermionic
some cases where AMPS fails with floating number
emission through heterojunction interfaces. In the trap-
exceptions. Additionally, users will not lose all their
assisted model, the tunneling recombination effect is
information if the simulation does not converge at a certain
reduced to the conventional Shockley-Read-Hall
recombination because of the weak electric fields.
Figure 4 Light IV curves from three models. The
default AM1.5 spectrum of AMPS is used.
To study the thermionic emission limit to the current and
understand the differences better, the band spike between
the CdS and CIGS layers was artificially changed. This
was implemented by modifying the electron affinity of the
CdS layer. It was found that when the band spike is
smaller than the one in the baseline device, the results
become much closer. However, when the band spike is
0.3 eV higher than in the baseline case, the differences of
the current-voltage curves become obvious (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Light IV curves from different spike heights at
the CdS/CiGS interface.
As seen from the Figure 6, the energy band diagram
produced by the intra-band model shows noticeable
discontinuities between Efn and Efp at the heterojunction,
especially a significant discontinuity of 0.6 eV for the Efp,
whereas in the drift-diffusion model quasi-Fermi levels at
interfaces are the same.
The comparisons show that when simulating abrupt
heterojunction solar cells with a high band spike,
thermionic emission limits will take effect and cause
significant differences among these models.
Figure 6 Energy band diagram of the CdS/CIGS
interface with a spike of 0.3eV higher than the
baseline, at short-circuit condition under illumination.
SUMMARY
With convenient user interface and the incorporation of the
intra-band tunneling model and the trap-assisted tunneling
model, wxAMPS is high performance software to simulate
the behaviors of heterojunction solar cells. A new
algorithm taking advantage of the Newton and Gummel
method enhances the convergence property and also
makes the program feasible to model the intra-band
tunneling effects for devices of heavy-recombination.
The solar cell parameters predicted by these two tunneling
models and traditional drift-diffusion model are very close
if the device works in weak electrical fields as well as low
currents, and without a high barrier at the hetero-interface.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank China Scholarship Council
for the support. A.R. and D.H. acknowledge funding from
the National Science Foundation under award 0602938-
0017756000 Materials World Network. The generous
sharing of AMPS software and source code by Prof.
Stephan Fonash at Pennsylvania State University is also
appreciated.
REFERANCES
[1] Y. Liu, D. Heinzel, and A. Rockett, "A revised version of
the AMPS simulation code", in Photovoltaic Specialists
Conference (PVSC), 2010 35th IEEE, 2010, pp. 001943-
001947.
[2] S. Fonash, et al., "A Manual for AMPS-1D for Windows
95/NT", The Pennsylvania State University, 1997.
[3] K. Yang, "Modeling of abrupt heterojunctions using a
 thermionic-field emission boundary conditions", Solid-
State Electronics, vol. 36, issue 3, pp. 321-330, 1993.

[4] G. A. M. Hurkx, D. B. M. Klaassen, and M. P. G.

Knuvers, "A new recombination model for device
simulation including tunneling", Electron Devices, IEEE
Transactions on, vol. 39, pp. 331-338, 1992.

[5] https://wiki.engr.illinois.edu/display/solarcellsim/.

[6] M. Gloeckler, "NUMERICAL MODELING OF CIGS

AND CdTe SOLAR CELLS_SETTING THE BASELINE",
3rd conference on photovoltaic energy conversion, 2003.

[7] S. M. Durbin and J. L. Gray, "Considerations for

modeling heterojunction transport in solar cells", in
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., 1994, pp. 1746-
1749 vol.2.

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