Abstract

Here we use a coupled optical and electrical model to study the performance of heterojunction Si (HJSi) solar cells based on gallium phosphide (GaP)/crystalline Silicon (c-Si) structures in comparison with Si (c-Si)/amorphous Si (a-Si) HIT solar cells. The simulations are based on a numerical driftdiffusion model performed with the Sentaurus TCAD tool. We investigate the impact of highly n-doped indium tin oxide (ITO n+) window layer for the case of flat and textured surface with different ITO thicknesses. Simulation results indicates that GaP used in the top layer of a HJSi solar cell is a good candidate to improve the performance and reach efficiencies in excess of of the 25.6% currently reached for a HIT cells with a-Si. We perform a detailed simulation study of a fabricated solar cells structure for various emitter designs, extracting key figures of merit like efficiency, short-circuit current and open circuit voltage; our values are in good agreement with recently reported solar cells. After having validated our simulation approach, different optimization techniques are investigated in order to maximize the performance of the solar cell.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2016 IEEE 43rd Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2016
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages2467-2472
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781509027248
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 18 2016
Event43rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2016 - Portland, United States
Duration: Jun 5 2016Jun 10 2016

Publication series

NameConference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
Volume2016-November
ISSN (Print)0160-8371

Other

Other43rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPortland
Period6/5/166/10/16

Keywords

  • GaP/c-Si heteostructures
  • Heterojunction
  • Photovoltaic cells
  • silicon solar cells
  • texturing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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