Understanding the current-voltage characteristics of industrial crystalline silicon solar cells by considering inhomogeneous current distributions

Opto-Electronics Review

Volumn 21, Issue 3, 2013, Pages 259-282

  Breitenstein, O ^a  

^a MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE OF MICROSTRUCTURE PHYSICS   (Germany)

Author keywords

current voltage characteristics; efficiency; modelling; silicon; solar cells

Indexed keywords

CONVERSION EFFICIENCY; CURRENT VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS; EFFICIENCY; MODELS; MONOCRYSTALLINE SILICON; NANOCRYSTALLINE MATERIALS; SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES; SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS; SILICON; SILICON WAFERS; SOLAR CELLS; SOLAR POWER GENERATION;

CRYSTALLINE SILICON SOLAR CELLS; CURRENT DISTRIBUTION; INDUSTRIAL SOLAR CELLS; INHOMOGENEITIES; LOCKIN THERMOGRAPHY; MULTI-CRYSTALLINE SILICON; SIMPLE STRUCTURES; TWO-DIODE MODEL;

SILICON SOLAR CELLS;

EID: 84879760192     PISSN: 12303402     EISSN: 18963757     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2478/s11772-013-0095-5     Document Type: Article

References (78)

1. G. Hering, "Das Jahr des Drachen", Photon 4, 42-63 (2012). (in German)
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar-cell#History-of-solar-cells.
3. M.A. Green, K. Emery, Y. Hishikawa, W. Warta, and E.D. Dunlop, "Solar cell efficiency tables (version 39)", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 20, 12-20 (2012).
4. S.M. Sze and K.K. Ng, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, 2007.
5. A. Müller, M. Ghosh, R. Sonnenschein, and P. Woiditsch, "Silicon for photovoltaic applications", Mater. Sci. Eng. B134, 257-262 (2006).
6. H.J. Queisser, "Forward characteristics and efficiencies of silicon solar cells", Solid State Electron. 5, 1-10 (1962).
7. th IEEE Phot. Spec. Conf., pp. 573-576, Washington DC, 1996.
8. A. Schenk and U. Krumbein, "Coupled defect-level recombination: Theory and application to anomalous diode characteristics", J. Appl. Phys. 78, 3185-3192 (1995).
9. K.R. McIntosh, "Lumps, humps and bumps: Three detrimental effects in the current-voltage curve of silicon solar cells", Ph.D. Thesis, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2001.
10. A.S.H. van der Heide, A. Schönecker, J.H. Bultman, and W.C. Sinke, "Explanation of high solar cell diode factors by nonuniform contact resistance", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 13, 3-16 (2005).
11. M.A. Green, Solar Cells - Operating Principles, Technology And System Applications, UNSW, Sydney 1998.
12. P. Würfel, Physics Of Solar Cells - From Principles To New Concept, Wiley, Weinheim, 2005.
13. A. Simo and S. Martinuzzi, "Hot spots and heavily dislocated regions in multicrystalline silicon cells", Proc. 21st IEEE Phot. Spec. Conf., pp. 800-805, Kissimee, USA, 1990.
14. O. Breitenstein, W. Eberhardt, and K. Iwig, "Imaging the local forward current density of solar cells by dynamical precision contact thermography", Proc. 1st World Conf. on Photo-voltaic Energy Conversion, pp. 1633-1836, Waikaloa, Hawaii, 1994.
15. O. Breitenstein, K. Iwig, and I. Konovalov, "Evaluation of local electrical parameters of solar cells by dynamic (lock-in) thermography", Phys. Status Solidi A160, 271-282 (1997).
16. P.K. Kuo, T. Ahmed, H. Jin, and R.L. Thomas, "Phase-locked image acquisition in thermography", Proc. SPIE 1004, 41-45 (1988).
17. G. Busse, D. Wu, and W. Karpen, "Thermal wave imaging with phase sensitive modulated thermography", J. Appl. Phys. 71, 3962-2965 (1992).
18. O. Breitenstein, M. Langenkamp, F. Altmann, and D. Katzer, "Microscopic lock-in thermography investigations of leakage sites in integrated circuits", Rev. Sci. Instr. 71, 4155-4160 (2000).
19. O. Breitenstein, M. Langenkamp, O. Lang, and A. Schirrmacher, "Shunts due to laser scribing of solar cells evaluated by highly sensitive lock-in thermography", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 65, 55-62 (2001).
20. O. Breitenstein, W. Warta, and M. Langenkamp, Lock-in Thermography - Basics and Use for Evaluating Electronic Devices and Materials (second edition), Springer, Heidelberg/New York 2010.
21. Breitenstein, "Nondestructive local analysis of current-volt-age characteristics of solar cells by lock-in thermography", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 95, 2933-2936 (2011).
22. O. Breitenstein, "Local efficiency analysis of solar cells based on lock-in thermography", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 107, 381-389 (2012).
23. O. Breitenstein, J. Bauer, K. Bothe, D. Hinken, J. Müller, W. Kwapil, M.C. Schubert, and W. Warta, "Can luminescence imaging replace lock-in thermography on solar cells?", IEEE J. Photovoltaics 1, 159-167 (2011).
24. W. Shockley, "The theory of p-n junctions in semiconductors and p-n junction transistors", Bell Syst. Tec. J. 28, 435-489 (1949).
25. C.T. Sah, R.N. Noice, W. Shockley, "Carrier generation and recombination in p-n junctions and p-n junction characteristics", Proc. IRE 45, 1228-1243 (1957).
26. http://pveducation.org/pvcdrom
27. O. Breitenstein and J.-P. Rakotoniaina, "Electrothermal simulation of a defect in a solar cell". J. Appl. Phys. 97, 074905 (2005).
28. th Eur. Phot. Solar Energy Conf., pp. 251-254, Glasgow, 2000.
29. S.L. Miller, "Ionization rates for holes and electrons in silicon", Physical Review 105, 1246-1249 (1957).
30. S.M. Sze and G. Gibbons, "Effect of junction curvature on breakdown voltage in semiconductors", Solid State Electron. 9, 831-845 (1966).
31. O. Breitenstein and J. Heydenreich, "Non-ideal I-V characteristics of block-cast silicon solar cells", Solid-State Phenomena 37-38, 139-144 (1994).
32. M. Hermle, J. Dicker, W. Warta, S.W. Glunz, and G. Willeke, "Analysis of edge recombination for high-efficiency solar cells at low illumination densities", Proc. 3rd World Conf. Phot. Energ. Conversion, pp. 1009-1012, Osaka, 2003.
33. O. Breitenstein, P. Altermatt, K. Ramspeck, M.A. Green, J. Zhao, and A. Schenk, "Interpretation of commonly observed I-V characteristics of c-Si cells having ideality factors larger than two", Proc. 4th World Conf. Phot. Energ. Conversion, pp. 789-884, Waikaloa, Hawaii 2006.
34. O. Breitenstein, P. Altermatt, K. Ramspeck, and A. Schenk, "The origin of ideality factors n > 2 of shunts and surfaces in the dark I-V curves of Si solar cells", Proc. 21st Eur. Phot. Solar Energ. Conf., pp. 652-628, Dresden, 2006.
35. S. Steingrube, O. Breitenstein, K. Ramspeck, S. Glunz, A. Schenk, and P.P. Altermatt, "Explanation of commonly observed shunt currents in c-Si solar cells by means of recombination statistics beyond the Shockley-Read-Hall approximation", J. Appl. Phys. 110, 014515 (2011).
36. R. Kühn, P. Fath, and E. Bucher, "Effects of pn-junction bordering on surfaces investigated by means of 2D-modeling", Proc. 28th IEEE Phot. Special. Conf., pp. 116-119, Anchorage, 2000.
37. M. Nardone, V.G. Karpov, D. Shvydka, and M.L.C. Attygalle, "Theory of electronic transport in non-crystalline junctions", J. Appl. Phys. 106, 074503 (2009).
38. R.A. Sinton, "Predicting multi-crystalline solar cell efficiency from lifetime measured during cell fabrication" Proc. 3rd World Conf. Phot. Energ. Conversion, pp. 1028-1031, Osaka, 2003.
39. S. Rißland and O. Breitenstein, "High resolution saturation current density imaging at grain boundaries by lock-in thermography", Solar Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 104, 121-124 (2012).
40. D. Macdonald and A. Cuevas, "Reduced fill factors in multi-crystalline silicon solar cells due to injection-level dependent bulk recombination lifetimes", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 8, 363-375 (2000).
41. S.J. Robinson, S.R. Wenham, P.P. Altermatt, A.G. Aberle, G. Heiser, and M.A. Green, "Recombination rate saturation mechanisms at oxidized surfaces of high-efficiency solar cells", J. Appl. Phys. 78, 4740-4754 (1995).
42. W. Schröter, J. Kronewitz, U. Gnauert, F. Riedel, and M. Seibt, "Bandlike and localized states at extended defects in silicon", Phys. Rev. B52, 13 726-13 729 (1995).
43. S. Dubois, O. Palais, M. Pasquinelli, S. Martinuzzi, C. Jaussaud, and N. Rondel, "Influence of iron contamination on the performances of single-crystalline silicon solar cells: Computed and experimental results", J. Appl. Phys. 100, 024510 (2006).
44. S. Rißland and O. Breitenstein, "Evaluation of luminescence images of solar cells for injection-level dependent lifetimes", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 111, 112-114 (2010).
45. P.J. Cousins and J.E. Cotter, "The influence of diffusion-induced dislocations on high-efficiency solar cells", IEEE T. Electron Devices 53, 457-464 (2006).
46. P.P. Altermatt, J.O. Schumacher, A. Cuevas, M.J. Kerr, S.W. Glunz, R.R. King, G. Heiser, and A. Schenk, "Numerical modelling of highly doped Si:P emitters based on Fermi-Dirac statistics and self-consistent material parameters", J. Appl. Phys. 92, 3187-3197 (2002).
47. C. Reichel, F. Granek, J. Benick, O. Schulz-Wittmann, and S.W. Glunz, "Comparison of emitter saturation current densities determined by injection-dependent lifetime spectroscopy in high and low injection regimes", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 20, 21-30 (2012).
48. O. Breitenstein, J.P. Rakotoniaina, M.H. Al Rifai, and M. Werner, "Shunt types in crystalline silicon solar cells", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appli. 12, 529-538 (2004).
49. J.P. Rakotoniaina, O. Breitenstein, M. Werner, M.H. Al-Rifai, T. Buonassisi, M.D. Pickett, M. Ghosh, A. Müller, and N. Le Quang, "Distribution and formation of silicon carbide and silicon nitride precipitates in block-cast multicrystalline silicon", Proc. 20th Eur. Phot. Solar Energ. Conf., pp. 773-776, Barcelona, 2005.
50. J. Bauer, O. Breitenstein, A. Lotnyk, and H. Blumtritt, "Investigations on different types of filaments in multi-crystalline silicon for solar cells", Proc. 22nd Eur. Phot. Solar Energ. Conf., pp. 994-997, Milan, 2007.
51. J. Bauer, O. Breitenstein, and J.P. Rakotoniaina, "Electronic activity of SiC precipitates in multicrystalline solar silicon", Phys. Status Solidi A204, 2190-2195 (2007).
52. N.F. Mott, Metal-Insulator Transitions, Taylor & Francis, London 1990.
53. S.Y. Myong and K.S. Lim, "Universal single-phonon variable range hopping for inorganic semiconducting polycrystalline films", Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 222110 (2006).
54. J.-M. Wagner, J. Bauer, and O. Breitenstein, "Classification of pre-breakdown phenomena in multicrystalline silicon solar cells", Proc. 24th Eur. Phot. Solar Energ. Conf., pp. 925-929, Hamburg, 2009.
55. J. Bauer, "The origins of non-ideal current-voltage characteristics of silicon solar cells", Ph.D. Thesis, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 2009, http://digital.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/hs/content/ titleinfo/474968, available at Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften, Saarbrücken (2012), ISBN 978-3-8381-2865-8.
56. O. Breitenstein, J. Bauer, K. Bothe, W. Kwapil, D. Lausch, U. Rau, J. Schmidt, M. Schneemann, M.C. Schubert, J.-M. Wagner, and W. Warta, "Understanding junction breakdown in multicrystalline solar cells", J. Appl. Phys. 109, 071101 (2011).
57. W. Kwapil, M. Wagner, M.C. Schubert, and W. Warta, "High net doping concentration responsible for critical diode breakdown behaviour of upgraded metallurgical grade multicrystalline silicon solar cells", J. Appl. Phys. 108, 023708 (2010).
58. D. Lausch, K. Petter, R. Bakowski, C. Czekalla, J. Lenzner, H. v. Wenckstern, and M. Grundmann, "Identification of pre-breakdown mechanism of silicon solar cells at low reverse voltages", Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 073506 (2010).
59. W. Kwapil, P. Gundel, M.C. Schubert, F.D. Heinz, W. Warta, E.R. Weber, A. Goetzberger, and G. Martinez-Criado, "Observation of metal precipitates at prebreakdown sites in multicrystalline silicon solar cells", Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 232113 (2009).
60. 2 needles in multicrystalline silicon solar cells", J. Appl. Phys. 113, 044505 (2013).
61. M. Schneemann, A. Helbig, T. Kirchartz, R. Carius, and U. Rau, "Reverse biased electroluminescence spectroscopy of crystalline solar cells with high spatial resolution", Phys. Status Solidi A207, 2597-2600 (2010).
62. J. Bauer, J.-M. Wagner, A. Lotnyk, H. Blumtritt, B. Lim, J. Schmidt, and O. Breitenstein, "Hot spots in multicrystalline silicon solar cells: avalanche breakdown due to etch pits", Phys. Status Solidi RRL 3, 40-42 (2009).
63. O. Breitenstein, J. Bauer, J.-M. Wagner, N. Zakharov, H. Blumtritt, A. Lotnyk, M. Kasemann, W. Kwapil, and W. Warta, "Defect-induced breakdown in multicrystalline silicon solar cells", IEEE T. Electron Devices 57, 2227-2234 (2010).
64. th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, pp. 2913-2917, Seattle, 2011.
65. J. Bauer, D. Lausch, H. Blumtritt, N. Zakharov, and O. Breitenstein, "Avalanche breakdown in multicrystalline solar cells due to preferred phosphorous diffusion at extended defects", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl., DOI: 10.1002/pip.2220.
66. S. Dubois, J. Veirman, N. Enjalbert, and P. Scheiblin, "Hard breakdown mechanism of compensated p-type and n-type single-crystalline silicon solar cells", Solid State Electron. 76, 36-39 (2012).
67. M.A. Kinch, "Electronic properties of HgCdTe", J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 21, 215-219 (1982).
68. P.P. Altermatt, G. Heiser, A.G. Aberle, A. Wang, J. Zhao, S.J. Robinson, S. Bowden, and M.A. Green, "Spatially resolved analysis and minimization of resistive losses in high-efficiency Si solar cells", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 4, 399-414 (1996).
69. G.L. Araújo, A. Cuevas, and J.M. Ruiz, "The effect of distributed series resistance on the dark and illuminated current-voltage characteristics of solar cells", IEEE T. Electron Devices 33, 391-401 (1986).
70. B. Fischer, P. Fath, and E. Bucher, "Evaluation of solar cell J(V)-measurements with a distributed series resistance model", Proc. 16th Eur. Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conf., pp. 1365-1368, Glasgow, 2000.
71. O. Breitenstein and S. Rißland, "A two-diode model regarding the distributed series resistance", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 110, 77-86 (2013).
72. S.J. Robinson, A.G. Aberle, and M.A. Green, "Departures from the principle of superposition in silicon solar cells", J. Appl. Phys. 76, 7920-7930 (1994).
73. http://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/characterisation/pc1d
74. T. Trupke, E. Pink, R.A. Bardos, and M.D. Abbott, "Spatially resolved series resistance of silicon solar cells obtained from luminescence imaging", Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 093506 (2007).
75. A. Sugianto, B.S. Tjahjono, L. Mai, and S.R. Wenham, "Investigations of unusual shunting behaviour due to phototransistor effect in n-type aluminum-alloyed rear-junction solar cells", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 93, 1986-1993 (2009).
76. F. Khan, S.N. Singh, and M. Husain, "Effect of illumination on cell parameters of a silicon solar cell", Sol. Energ. Mat. Sol. C. 94, 1473-1476 (2010).
77. S. Bowden and A. Rohatgi, "Rapid and accurate determination of series resistance and fill factor losses in industrial silicon solar cells", Proc. 17th Eur. Phot. Solar Energ. Conf., pp. 1802-1805, Munich, 2001.
78. A. Sugianto, O. Breitenstein, B.S. Tjahjono, A. Lennon, L. Mai, and S.R. Wenham, "Impact of localized regions with very high series resistances on solar cell performance", Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl. 20, 452-462 (2012).