Measurements and Simulations on the Mechanisms of Efficiency Losses in HIT Solar Cells

We study the electrical and the optical behavior of HIT solar cell by means of measurements and optoelectrical simulations by TCAD simulations. We compare the HIT solar cell with a conventional crystalline silicon solar cell to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the HIT technology. Results hig...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Silvio Pierro, Andrea Scuto, Luca Valenti, Marina Foti, Anna Battaglia, Giovanni Mannino, Cosimo Gerardi, Felice Crupi, Salvatore Lombardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
Series:International Journal of Photoenergy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/515767
Description
Summary:We study the electrical and the optical behavior of HIT solar cell by means of measurements and optoelectrical simulations by TCAD simulations. We compare the HIT solar cell with a conventional crystalline silicon solar cell to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the HIT technology. Results highlight different mechanisms of electrical and optical efficiency losses caused by the presence of the amorphous silicon layer. The higher resistivity of the a-Si layers implies a smaller distance between the metal lines that causes a higher shadowing. The worst optical coupling between the amorphous silicon and the antireflective coating implies a slight increase of reflectivity around the 600 nm wavelength.
ISSN:1110-662X
1687-529X