Performance analysis on a crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell under non-uniform illumination distribution with a high electrical efficiency

Abstract

The solar concentrator will cause the non-uniform illumination distribution, which will eventually have a profound impact on photovoltaic (PV) cells. For a crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell, the electrical efficiency with solar concentrator is usually lower than that with uniform illumination distribution. In fact, there is a coupling relationship between the solar concentrating illumination distribution and the PV cell. In this paper, a crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell under non-uniform illumination distribution is indicated, whose electrical efficiency is not negatively affected by the non-uniform illumination distribution. In order to verify that the concentrating PV has a high electrical efficiency, a comparison between the PV under non-uniform and uniform illumination distributions is presented. A series of performance indicators such as the surface voltage distribution, the current density distribution, and the PV conversion efficiency between them are compared. The results show that with the same total illumination intensity, the electrical output of this concentrating PV module with the non-uniform illumination distribution is not reduced, but is 3.4 mW higher than that of the PV cell under the uniform illumination profile, which will provide reference for the design of highly efficient solar concentrating PV.