Radiative efficiency limits of solar cells with lateral band-gap fluctuations

Abstract

The radiative recombination limit of photovoltaic power conversion under one sun terrestrial illumination is calculated for solar cells with lateral fluctuations of the band-gap energy. A simple analytical model quantifies the fluctuations by the standard deviation σEg from the mean band gap. The calculated maximum efficiency decreases by 1.7% (absolute) for σEg=50 meV and by 6.1% for σEg=100 meV with respect to a uniform band gap.