Performance Analysis of a Radial N+/P Silicon Solar Cell in Steady State and Monochromatic Illumination

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate theoretically a radial n + /p silicon solar cell in steady state and monochromatic illumination. The purpose of this work is to analyze the effect of the cell base radius on its electrical parameters. The continuity equation in cylindrical coordinates is established and solved based on Bessel functions and boundaries conditions; this led us to the photovoltage and photocurrent density in the cell. The open circuit voltage and the short circuit current density are then deduced and analyzed considering the base radius. Based on J-V and P-V curves, series and shunt resistances, fill factor and maximum power point are derived and the conversion efficiency of the cell is deduced. We showed that short circuit current density, maximum power, conversion efficiency and shunt resistance decrease with increasing base radius contrary to the open circuit voltage, the fill factor and the series resistance.