A New Analytical Method of Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells

Abstract

A new analytical method for amorphous silicon solar cells, called DICE (dynamic inner collection efficiency), has been developed. The depth profile of the photovoltaic characteristics of solar cells can be obtained by using the DICE method under any operating condition in a non-destructive manner for the first time. The DICE value is defined as the probability that an electron-hole pair generated at a certain depth in the generated region of an a-Si solar cell becomes an output current. In this paper the theory and the calculation method of DICE are described, and the results of applications to practical solar cells are reported. By using the DICE method it was found that carrier recombination at the p/i interface affects the open-circuit voltage.