A performance analysis of planar and radial pn junction based photovoltaic solar cells

• Main Author: Ska-Hiish, Manuel Dave Hokororo
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45418

In this thesis, the performance of both planar and radial pn junction based photovoltaic solar cells are examined for a broad range of materials. The materials considered include silicon, gallium arsenide, germaniun, indium nitride, and gallium nitride. The photovoltaic solar cell performance model of Kayes et al. [B.M. Kayes, H.A. Atwater, and N.S. Lewis, Journal of Applied Physics, volume 97, pp. 14302-1-11, 2005], is employed for the purposes of this analysis. Three solar cell performance metrics, evaluated using the et al., model are considered in this analysis: (1) the short-circuit current density, (2) the open-circuit voltage, and (3) the efficiency. The results suggest that while planar pn junction based photovoltaic solar cells are sensitive to trapping concentration levels, the radial pn junction based photovoltaic solar cells are relatively insensitive to trapping concentrations. This suggests that in certain cases, such as when there are materials with high concentration of traps, radial pn junction based photovoltaic solar cell offer inherent advantages over their planar counterparts.