Modeling Solar Cells: A Method for Achieving Improved Efficiencies
Abstract
Numerical simulation is now almost indispensable for the understanding and design of solar cells based on crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous materials. Highly developed programs include effects due to tunneling, optical light trapping, heat flow and other features. In principle, any numerical program capable of solving the basic semiconductor equations could be used for modeling conventional homo-junction and thinfilm solar cells. These basic equations are the Poisson equation and the continuity equations for electrons and holes. In general, the recombination terms, contained in the continuity equations, make the problem highly non-linear, but numerical methods for dealing with such equations has been already developed.