Investigation of open-circuit voltage in solar grade silicon solar cells from a metallurgical process route and cell’s defect

Abstract

The single crystalline silicon solar cells made by solar grade silicon feedstock from a metallurgical process route have an inferior performance than that made by polycrystalline silicon from the chemical route, but the former has a higher open-circuit voltage than the latter under low illumination. In this paper, the open-circuit voltages are calculated under low illumination in solar grade silicon solar cells from a metallurgical process route, and the relationship between open-circuit voltage and trap density are obtained. The result is in excellent agreement with the recent experimental measurements and in harmony with other theoretical calculations. The scientific phenomenon in metallurgical silicon solar cells is explained by modelling and simulation for the first time. It should be emphasized that this phenomenon exists in not only single crystalline silicon solar cells from a metallurgical process route but also multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Finally, the detrimental characteristics of single crystalline silicon solar cells from a metallurgical process route are revealed.