Improved equivalent circuit and analytical model for amorphous silicon solar cells and modules

Journal Article · Sun Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1998 · IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/16.658676· OSTI ID:616184

Merten, J; Asensi, J M; Voz, C; Andreu, J ^[1]; Shah, A V; Platz, R ^[2]

---

1. Univ. de Barcelona (Spain). Dept. de Fisica Aplicada i Eletronica
2. Inst. de Microtechnique, Rue Breguet (Switzerland)

An improved equivalent circuit for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells and modules is presented. It is based on the classic combination of a diode with an exponential current-voltage characteristic, of a photocurrent source plus a new term representing additional recombination losses in the i-layer of the device. This model/equivalent circuit matches the I(V) curves of a-Si:H cells over an illumination range of six order of magnitude. The model clearly separates effects related to the technology of the device (series and parallel resistance) and effects related to the physics of the pin-junction (recombination losses). It also allows an effective {mu}{tau} product in the i-layer of the device to be determined, characterizing its state of degradation.

• OSTI ID: 616184
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 45; ISSN IETDAI; ISSN 0018-9383
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
EQUIVALENT CIRCUITS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
RECOMBINATION
SILICON SOLAR CELLS