TY - GEN
T1 - Simulated performance of monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe double heterostructure solar cells
AU - Zhao, Yuan
AU - Zhang, Yong-Hang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 IEEE.
PY - 2015/12/14
Y1 - 2015/12/14
N2 - This paper reports the simulated performance of monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe double-heterostructure solar cells using both the detailed-balance model and the drift-diffusion model. The Shockley-Queisser model predicts the limiting efficiency of an idealized solar cell with unity absorptance above the bandgap energy and zero below. However, practical solar cells do not have step-function absorptance spectra due to finite absorber thickness, non-ideal anti-reflection coating, Urbach tail, etc. This paper develops a detailed-balance model for solar cells with finite absorber thicknesses and arbitrary absorptance spectra, which can be calculated using the material property and sample structure of a solar cell. The drift-diffusion model is solved numerically using PC1D software while taking into account the photon recycling (PR) effects by adjusting the effective radiative recombination coefficient with a PR factor of the solar cell. With the inclusion of the PR effect, simulation results from PC1D agree well with the detailed-balance limit when non-radiative recombination is negligible. The expected efficiencies of a monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe double-heterostructure solar cell are calculated as a function of minority carrier lifetime. A 28.7 % efficiency is potentially achievable for monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe DH solar cells with a SRH lifetime of 2.7 μs demonstrated very recently.
AB - This paper reports the simulated performance of monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe double-heterostructure solar cells using both the detailed-balance model and the drift-diffusion model. The Shockley-Queisser model predicts the limiting efficiency of an idealized solar cell with unity absorptance above the bandgap energy and zero below. However, practical solar cells do not have step-function absorptance spectra due to finite absorber thickness, non-ideal anti-reflection coating, Urbach tail, etc. This paper develops a detailed-balance model for solar cells with finite absorber thicknesses and arbitrary absorptance spectra, which can be calculated using the material property and sample structure of a solar cell. The drift-diffusion model is solved numerically using PC1D software while taking into account the photon recycling (PR) effects by adjusting the effective radiative recombination coefficient with a PR factor of the solar cell. With the inclusion of the PR effect, simulation results from PC1D agree well with the detailed-balance limit when non-radiative recombination is negligible. The expected efficiencies of a monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe double-heterostructure solar cell are calculated as a function of minority carrier lifetime. A 28.7 % efficiency is potentially achievable for monocrystalline CdTe/MgCdTe DH solar cells with a SRH lifetime of 2.7 μs demonstrated very recently.
KW - CdTe
KW - detailed-balance model
KW - double heterostructure
KW - photon recycling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84961627613&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1109/PVSC.2015.7355772
DO - 10.1109/PVSC.2015.7355772
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84961627613
T3 - 2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, PVSC 2015
BT - 2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, PVSC 2015
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 42nd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, PVSC 2015
Y2 - 14 June 2015 through 19 June 2015
ER -