Solar cell I-V curve

Isc = -IL
 Efficiency as a function of band gap
To find the efficiency as a function of band gap, the above procedure is repeated for
each band gap. There is a range of bandgaps for the optimum cell efficiency as shown in
the graph below.
 Collection Probability

The "collection probability" describes the probability that a carrier generated by light
absorption in a certain region of the device will be collected by the p-n junction and
therefore contribute to the light-generated current, but probability depends on the
distance that a light-generated carrier must travel compared to the diffusion length.
The collection probability in conjunction with the generation rate in the solar cell
determine the light-generated current from the solar cell.

The light-generated current is the integration over the entire device thickness of the
generation rate at a particular point in the device, multiplied by the collection probability
at that point.

The equation for the light-generated current density (JL), with an arbitrary generation rate
(G(x))and collection probability (CP(x)), is shown below, as is the generation rate in silicon
due to the AM1.5 solar spectrum:

where:
q is the electronic charge;
W is the thickness of the device;
α(λ) is the absorption coefficient;
H0 is the number of photons at each wavelength.
 Quantum Efficiency
➢The "quantum efficiency" (Q.E.) is the ratio of the number of carriers collected by the
solar cell to the number of photons of a given energy incident on the solar cell.

➢The quantum efficiency may be given either as a function of wavelength or as energy. If

all photons of a certain wavelength are absorbed and the resulting minority carriers are
collected, then the quantum efficiency at that particular wavelength is unity.

➢The quantum efficiency for photons with energy below the band gap is zero. A quantum
efficiency curve for an ideal solar cell is shown below.
 Photocurrent and Quantum Efficiency
The photocurrent generated by a solar cell under illumination at short circuit is
dependent On the incident light. To relate the photocurrent density, Jsc, to the incident
spectrum we need the cell’s quantum efficiency (QE).

QE (E) is the probability that an incident photon of energy E will deliver one electron to
the external circuit.

J sc = q  bs ( E )QE ( E ) dE

Where bs(E) is the incident spectral photon flux density, i.e., the number of photon of
energy in the range E and E+dE which are incident on unit area in unit time and q is
electronic charge.

QE depends upon the absorption coefficient of the solar cell material, the efficiency of
charge separation and the efficiency of charge collection in the device but does not
depend on the incident spectrum.
Two types of QE are used:

➢External quantum efficiency (EQE): Loss of photons due to reflection and

transmission is not considered.

➢Internal quantum efficiency (IQE): Only absorbed photons are considered.

The difference between EQE and IQE is that loss of photons due to reflection and
transmission is not considered in EQE.

However, only those photons which are absorbed (excluding reflected and transmitted)
contribute to the solar cell current. Due to this IQE is most commonly used to study cell
performance.

EQE
IQE =
1 − R ( ) − T ( )
current density collected
QE ( E ) = EQE =
q x incident photon flux density
 Spectral Response

The spectral response is conceptually similar to the quantum efficiency. The quantum
efficiency gives the number of electrons output by the solar cell compared to the number
of photons incident on the device, while the spectral response is the ratio of the current
generated by the solar cell to the power incident on the solar cell. A spectral response
curve is shown below.
Spectral response is important since it is the spectral response that is measured from a
solar cell, and from this the quantum efficiency is calculated.

The quantum efficiency can be determined from the spectral response by replacing the
power of the light at a particular wavelength with the photon flux for that wavelength.
This gives:

QE .  ( nm)
SR ( A / W ) =
1239.8
 The photovoltaic effect
➢The collection of light-generated carriers does not by itself give rise to power generation.
In order to generate power, a voltage must be generated as well as a current.

➢Voltage is generated in a solar cell by a process known as the "photovoltaic effect". The
collection of light-generated carriers by the p-n junction causes a movement of electrons to
the n-type side and holes to the p-type side of the junction.

➢Under short circuit conditions, there is no build up of charge, as the carriers exit the device
as light-generated current.

➢However, if the light-generated carriers are prevented from leaving the solar cell, then the
collection of light-generated carriers causes an increase in the number of electrons on the n-
type side of the p-n junction and a similar increase in holes in the p-type material.

➢This separation of charge creates an electric field at the junction which is in opposition to
that already existing at the junction, thereby reducing the net electric field. Since the
electric field represents a barrier to the flow of the forward bias diffusion current, the
reduction of the electric field increases the diffusion current. A new equilibrium is reached
in which a voltage exists across the p-n junction.
 Tandem Cells
One method to increase the efficiency of a solar cell is to split the spectrum and use a solar
cell that is optimised to each section of the spectrum.

Tandem solar cells can either be individual cells or connected in series. Series connected cells
are simpler to fabricate but the current is the same though each cell so this contrains the
band gaps that can be used. The most common arrangement for tandem cells is to grow them
monolithically so that all the cells are grown as layers on the on substrate and tunnel
junctions connect the individual cells.
As the number of bandgaps increases the efficiency of the stack also potentially
increases. In reality, the semiconductor materials do not exist to allow for arbitrary
materials with a specific bandgap and of high quality.
 1. low energy photon/High energy photon
Losses in Solar Cell: 2. Reflection loss/incomplete absorption
3. Metal coverage
4. Voltage loss
5. Fill factor loss
6. Recombination losses
 Parasitic Resistances
The parasitic resistance: Sum of all resistance
due to all component through which current is
flowing as well as crustal defect and impurity
Optical Losses:
Light generated current itself proportional to light input

Recombination Losses:
By diode itself, connected to the parallel of current flow in opposite direction
Ohmic Losses:
Series Resistance (Rs): Effect on I sc

Sum of all resistance in the path of current flow

Shunt Resistance (Rsh): Effect on Voc,

Due to leakage across P-N junction/ crystal defect/impurities
 Resistive Losses
Characteristic Resistance
➢The characteristic resistance of a solar cell is the output resistance of the solar cell at its
maximum power point.
➢ If the resistance of the load is equal to the characteristic resistance of the solar cell,
then the maximum power is transferred to the load and the solar cell operates at its
maximum power point.

➢It is a useful parameter in solar cell analysis, particularly when examining the impact of
parasitic loss mechanisms.
The characteristic resistance of a solar
cell is the inverse of the slope of the
power line, can be given as:

It can alternately be given as an approximation where:

 Effect of parasitic Resistances
➢Resistive effects in solar cells reduce the efficiency of the solar cell by dissipating power
in the resistances.

➢The most common parasitic resistances are series resistance and shunt resistance.

Rs: as low as possible

Rsh: as high as possible

➢In most cases and for typical values of shunt and series resistance, the key impact of
parasitic resistance is to reduce the fill factor.

➢Both the magnitude and impact of series and shunt resistance depend on the
geometry of the solar cell, at the operating point of the solar cell.
 Series Resistance

Series resistance in a solar cell has three causes:

➢the movement of current through the emitter and base of the solar cell;

➢the contact resistance between the metal contact and the silicon; and

➢the resistance of the top and rear metal contacts.

The main impact of series resistance is to reduce the fill factor, although excessively high
values may also reduce the short-circuit current.

I = I sc − I o [e q (V + IRs ) / nkT − 1]
 Effect of Series resistance on I-V curve
With increasing series resistance

(a) (c)

(d)
(b)
Series resistance does not affect the solar cell at open-circuit voltage since the overall
current flow through the solar cell, and therefore through the series resistance is zero.

However, near the open-circuit voltage, the I-V curve is strongly effected by the series
resistance.

A straight-forward method of estimating the series resistance from a solar cell is to find
the slope of the I-V curve at the open-circuit voltage point.

An equation for the FF as a function of series resistance can be determined by noting that
for moderate values of series resistance, the maximum power may be approximated as
the power in the absence of series resistance minus the power lost in the series
resistance. The equation for the maximum power from a solar cell then becomes:

defining a normalized series resistance as;

Assuming that the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current are not affected by the
series resistance which allows the impact of series resistance on FF to be determined;

In the above equation the fill factor which is not affected by series resistance is denoted
by FF0 and FF' is called FFS. The equation then becomes;

An empirical equation, which is slightly more accurate for the relationship between
FF0 and FFS is;

which is valid for rs < 0.4 and voc > 10, where voc is Voc /(kT/q) i.e., Open circuit voltage
normalized to the thermal voltage.
 Shunt Resistance
Significant power losses caused by the
presence of a shunt resistance, RSH, are
typically due to manufacturing defects,
rather than poor solar cell design.

Low shunt resistance causes power losses

in solar cells by providing an alternate
current path for the light-generated
current.
Such a diversion reduces the amount of current flowing through the solar cell junction and
reduces the voltage from the solar cell.
The effect of a shunt resistance is particularly severe at low light levels, since there will be
less light-generated current. The loss of this current to the shunt therefore has a larger
impact.
In addition, at lower voltages where the effective resistance of the solar cell is high, the
impact of a resistance in parallel is large.
The equation for a solar cell in presence of a shunt resistance is:

V
I = I sc − I o [e qV / nkT
− 1] −
Rsh
The impact of the shunt resistance on the fill factor can be calculated in a manner similar to
that used to find the impact of series resistance on fill factor. The maximum power may be
approximated as the power in the absence of shunt resistance, minus the power lost in the
shunt resistance. The equation for the maximum power from a solar cell then becomes;

RCH
 = PMP (1 −
PMP )
Rsh

Defining a normalized shunt resistance as;

Assuming that the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current are not affected by
the shunt resistance allows the impact of shunt resistance on FF to be determined
as;
In the above equation of FF, the fill factor which is not affected by shunt resistance is
denoted by FF0 and FF' is called FFSH. The equation then becomes;

An empirical equation, which is slightly more accurate for the relationship between
FF0 and FFSH is;

which is valid for rsh > 0.4.

 Effect of shunt resistance on I-V curve
With decreasing shunt resistance

(c)
(a)

(b) (d)
 Impact of Both Series and Shunt Resistances

In the presence of both series and shunt resistances, the IV curve of the solar cell is
given by;

q (V + IRs ) / nkT V + IRs

I = I sc − I o [e − 1] −
Rsh
To combine the effect of both series and shunt resistances, the expression for FFsh can be
used with FF0 replaced by FFs. The overall equation then becomes;

where FFs is given by;

and by combining the above equations, the net equation for FF becomes;

rs2 Voc + 0.7 1 rs2

FF = [ FF0 (1 − 1.1 rs ) + ][1 − FF0 (1 − 1.1 rs ) + ]
5.4 Voc rsh 5.4
 Effect of both series and shunt resistance on I-V curve
With increasing series resistance and decreasing shunt resistance

(a)

(b) (c)

(e)
(d)
 Effect of Temperature
Like all other semiconductor devices, solar cells are sensitive to temperature.

Increase in temperature reduces the band gap of a semiconductor, thereby effecting most of
the semiconductor material parameters.

The decrease in the band gap of a semiconductor with increasing temperature can be
viewed as increasing the energy of the electrons in the material.

Lower energy is therefore needed to break the

bond. In the bond model of a semiconductor
band gap, reduction in the bond energy also
reduces the band gap. Therefore increasing the
temperature reduces the band gap.

In a solar cell, the parameter most affected by

an increase in temperature is the open-circuit
voltage.
The open-circuit voltage decreases with temperature because of the temperature
dependence of I0. The equation for I0 from one side of a p-n junction is given by;

where: q is the electronic charge; D is the diffusivity of the minority carrier; L is the
diffusion length of the minority carrier; ND is the doping; and ni is the intrinsic carrier
concentration

In the above equation, many of the parameters have some temperature dependence,
but the most significant effect is due to the intrinsic carrier concentration, ni.

The intrinsic carrier concentration depends on the band gap energy (with lower band
gaps giving a higher intrinsic carrier concentration), and on the energy which the carriers
have (with higher temperatures giving higher intrinsic carrier concentrations).
The equation for the intrinsic carrier concentration is;

where: T is the temperature; h and k are constants; me and mh are the effective masses of
electrons and holes respectively; EGO is the band gap linearly extrapolated to absolute zero;
and B is a constant which is essentially independent of temperature.

Substituting these equations back into the expression for I0, and assuming that the
temperature dependencies of the other parameters can be neglected, gives;

where B' is a temperature independent constant. A constant , γ, is used instead of the

number 3 to incorporate the possible temperature dependencies of the other material
parameters. For silicon solar cells near room temperature, I0 approximately doubles for
every 10 °C increase in temperature.
The impact of I0 on the open-circuit voltage can be calculated by substituting the
equation for I0 into the equation for Voc as shown below;

where EG0 = qVG0. Assuming that dVoc/dT does not depend on dIsc/dT, dVoc/dT can be
found as;

The above equation shows that the temperature sensitivity of a solar cell depends on
the open circuit voltage of the solar cell, with higher voltage solar cells being less
affected by temperature. For silicon, EG0 is 1.2, and using γ as 3 gives a reduction in the
open-circuit voltage of about 2.2 mV/°C;
 kT
Voc − VGO = (ln I sc − ln B −  ln T )
q

dVoc k k
Now, = (ln I sc − ln B −  ln T − )
dT q q

dVoc 1 kT k
= (ln I sc − ln B −  ln T ) − 
dT T q q

dVoc Voc − VGO k

= −
dT T q

kT
VGO − Voc + 
dVoc q
=−
dT T
The short-circuit current, Isc, increases slightly with temperature, since the band gap
energy, EG, decreases and more photons have enough energy to create e-h pairs.
However, this is a small effect and the temperature dependence of the short-circuit
current from a silicon solar cell is;

The temperature dependency of FF for silicon is approximated by the following

equation;

The effect of temperature on the maximum power output, Pm, is;

 300 K or 25 °C ?

Most semiconductor modelling is done at 300 K since it is close to room temperature

and a convenient number. However, solar cells are typically measured almost 2 degrees
lower at 25 °C (298.15 K). In most cases the difference is insignificant (only 4 mV of Voc)
and both are referred to as room temperature.
 Questions

Q 1) Calculate the efficiency and peak power of a Si solar cell of

area 100 cm2 operating at 27o C, with short circuit current of 2.2 A
under standard illumination. Given: FF=0.75

Q 2) In above problem if the operating temperature of the solar

cell increases to about 40o C, calculate the efficiency.

Q 3) A p-n junction solar cell has Voc =0.5 V and Jsc =20 mA/cm2 .A
second, of same area, has Voc =0.6 V and Jsc =16 mA/cm2. Assuming
that both cells obey the ideal diode equation, find the values of Voc
and Jsc when the two cells are connected (a) in parallel and (b) in
series.
Q 4) A solar cell has a short circuit current density of 30 mA/cm2 and open circuit
voltage of 0.6 V under one Sun illumination at room temperature. Use the ideal
diode equation to calculate the open circuit voltage which is expected under
illumination by 100 Suns, stating any assumption made. In practice an open-circuit
voltage of 0.66 V is measured. Compare this with your result and suggest reasons
for any discrepancy.

Q 5) A n-p homo-junction solar cell has emitter thickness of xn and a base thickness
of xp. If the front surface reflectivity is R and bulk absorption is α for photons of
energy E,
(a) Find an expression for the photon flux density reaching the base when the
incident flux density is b0(E).
(b) Find an expression for the flux density absorbed in the base.
(c) If each absorbed photon in base delivers exactly one electron to the contacts,
what is the photocurrent density from the cell? You may ignore the emitter
photocurrent, and assume that the space charge width is negligible.
(d) Now find an expression for the Quantum efficiency.
(e) A n-p solar cell has xn=20 μm and R=0.1 for all photon energies. At 800 nm the
absorption of the cell material is 1.0x105 m-1. A student calculates that the QE
is only 60%. What might be the reason for this.
Q 6) A semiconductor has an intrinsic carrier density ni of 2.0x1012 m-3 at 300 K. A thin slab
of this material is exposed to a light pulse of photon energy 2.1 eV and intensity 1000
W/m2 for an interval of 1 ns. If the absorption coefficient is 5x105 m-1 at 2.1 eV, calculate
the concentration of photogenerated electrons and holes immediately after the pulse. You
may neglect recombination during the light pulse. Hence find new concentration of
electrons (n) and holes (p) and the product (np) in the following cases:
(a) If the semiconductor is intrinsic (i.e., n=p in the dark)
(b) If the semiconductor is doped with a concentration of 1x1022 m-3 donor impurities,
which may be considered to be fully ionized?
(c) In which case is the rate of radiative recombination faster?