Premium
Numerical simulation and a parametric study of inorganic nanowire solar cells
Author(s) -
Ali Nouran M.,
Abdel Haleem Ashraf M.,
Allam Nageh K.,
Rafat Nadia H.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of numerical modelling: electronic networks, devices and fields
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.249
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1099-1204
pISSN - 0894-3370
DOI - 10.1002/jnm.2176
Subject(s) - nanowire , theory of solar cells , p–n junction , materials science , solar cell , computer simulation , open circuit voltage , energy conversion efficiency , optoelectronics , discretization , semiconductor , diffusion , parametric statistics , current density , voltage , electric field , computational physics , mechanics , solar cell efficiency , physics , electrical engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , thermodynamics , engineering , statistics , quantum mechanics
Summary Radial junction nanorods (nanowires) are mainly used to improve the carrier collection efficiency and accordingly the conversion efficiency of solar cells. In this work, a numerical simulator has been produced for a cylindrical p–n junction solar cell based on a finite difference discretization of semiconductor, Poisson's, drift–diffusion transport and charge continuity equations. It can be applied to estimate the photogenerated current density, open circuit voltage, fill factor and conversion efficiency of inorganic radial p–n and p–i–n junction nanowires. Additionally, the simulator can produce the spatial distribution of the carriers' densities, electric field and energy bands of the nanowires. The simulator results show a good matching with previously published ones. Finally, the simulator is used in a parametric study to optimize the geometry and the junction depth of cylindrical silicon solar cells. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.