Numerical simulation of transport properties of charge carriers and temperature effect of silicon solar cells

Abstract

Operating temperature has a non-negligible effect on the performances of solar cells based on interior microscopic processes including carrier generation, transport, and recombination. Exploring the mechanisms of temperature effect is essential to analyzing and optimizing the photovoltaic utilization of solar energy. In this study, a numerical simulation combining the carrier generation, transport, and recombination with heat generation and dissipation was performed. The temperature effects of band-gap energy, charge carrier mobility, and lifetime on the distribution of charge carrier densities were discussed. Furthermore, the temperature effects of these parameters on the photovoltaic current and final temperature are presented. It has been noted that the photovoltaic and thermal performances of silicon solar cells are fundamentally associated with the charge carrier mobility and lifetime. The temperature effect of charge carrier mobility significantly affects the electron concentration, hole concentration, and Joule heat generation, and the impact degrees are 15.98%, 14.57%, and 23.44%, respectively. The temperature effect of the charge carrier lifetime involves a 9.16% degree of influence in the recombination heat generation. The photovoltaic current of solar cells is affected by the charge carrier mobility and lifetime with degrees of 0.45% and 0.43%, respectively. The final temperature of a solar cell can be influenced by carrier mobility with a degree of 0.87%.