Spectral Response under the Operating Voltage of Single Crystal Silicon Solar Cell

In photovoltaic system the major challenge is the cost reduction of the solar cell module to compete with those of conventional energy sources. Evolution of solar photovoltaic comprises of several generations through the last sixty years. The first generation solar cells were based on single crystal silicon and bulk polycrystalline Si wafers. The single crystal silicon solar cell has high material cost and the fabrication also requires very high energy. The second generation solar cells were based on thin film fabrication technology. Due to low temperature manufacturing process and less material requirement, remarkable cost reduction was achieved in these solar cells. Among all the thin film technologies amorphous silicon thin film solar cell is in most advanced stage of development and is commercially available. However, an inherent problem of light induced degradation in amorphous silicon hinders the higher efficiency in this kind of cell. The third generation silicon solar cells are based on nano-crystalline and nano-porous materials. Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) is becoming a promising material as an absorber layer of solar cell due to its high stability with high Voc. It is also suggested that the cause of high stability and less degradation of certain nc-Si:H films may be due to the improvement of medium range order (MRO) of the films. During the last ten years, organic, polymer, dye sensitized and perovskites materials are also attract much attention of the photovoltaic researchers as the low budget next generation PV material worldwide. Although most important challenge for those organic solar cells in practical applications is the stability issue. In this work nc-Si:H films are successfully deposited at a high deposition rate using a high pressure and a high power by Radio Frequency Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (RF PECVD) technique. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show the formations of distinct nano-sized grains in the amorphous tissue with sharp crystalline orientations. Light induced degradation of photoconductivity of nc-Si:H materials have been studied. Single junction solar cells and solar module were successfully fabricated using nanocrystalline silicon as absorber layer. The optimum cell is 7.1 % efficient initially. Improvement in efficiency can be achieved by optimizing the doped layer/interface and using Ag back contact.

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Spectral‐response and diffusion‐length studies of amorphous, polycrystalline, ribbon, epitaxial, and single‐crystal silicon MIS solar cells

Journal of Applied Physics ◽

10.1063/1.326434 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 50 (6) ◽

pp. 4425-4430 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

S. K. Dey ◽

W. A. Anderson ◽

A. E. Delahoy ◽

C. Cartier

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Single Crystal ◽

Diffusion Length ◽

Spectral Response ◽

Single Crystal Silicon ◽

Crystal Silicon ◽

And Diffusion

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Present status and future prospects of silicon solar cell arrays and systems

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.1980.0139 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 295 (1414) ◽

pp. 435-443 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Keyword(s):

Single Crystal ◽

Silicon Solar Cell ◽

Low Cost ◽

Single Crystal Silicon ◽

Film Deposition ◽

Medium Size ◽

Production Volume ◽

Crystal Silicon ◽

Cell Arrays ◽

And Performance

The first part of this paper deals with the present state of the art of the single crystal silicon cell industry: production volume, cost breakdown and main technologies. In the second section, improvements of the single crystal technologies, caused by mass production and automated physical processes, are described. These developments are compared, with regard to both cost and performance, with the future polycrystalline (or ‘semicrystalline’) materials, including amorphous silicon films. The various approaches, i.e. vapour or liquid film deposition, or oriented bulk ingot crystallization, are discussed. The third part assumes that very low cost goals can be achieved, either through the development of sophisticated single crystal technology, or through a polysilicon breakthrough. Future markets for photovoltaic conversion, including medium-size power generating plants, are then considered.

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Influence of Temperature on Methods for Determining Silicon Solar Cell Series Resistance

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2735350 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 129 (3) ◽

pp. 331-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

M. Sabry ◽

Ahmed E. Ghitas

Keyword(s):

Solar Cell ◽

Silicon Solar Cell ◽

Series Resistance ◽

Cell Model ◽

Single Crystal Silicon ◽

Crystal Silicon ◽

Shunt Resistance ◽

Solar Cell Performance ◽

Influence Of Temperature On ◽

Cell Series

Series resistance (Rs) is considered to be one of the most important parameters affecting solar cell performance, especially those operating under concentrated solar radiation. Many methods have been proposed where the estimated Rs values do not coincide or even come close to each other. In this paper, seven methods for determining Rs are reviewed and verified experimentally using a commercial single-crystal silicon solar cell (104cm2 of total area). Their differences lie principally in: (1) number of diodes quoted in the solar cell model; (2) other assumptions (constant ideality factor or not, infinite, or finite shunt resistance); and (3) simultaneous determination of other parameters or not. Based on these methods, Rs values were derived by extracting the necessary parameters from the measured I–V characteristics of the cell at different illuminations and cell temperatures. According to these methods, the obtained Rs values varied greatly in comparison with each other as well as its trend with temperature variation.

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