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Effects of spectrum on the power rating of amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices
Author(s) -
Monokroussos C.,
Bliss M.,
Qiu Y.N.,
Hibberd C.J.,
Betts T.R.,
Tiwari A.N.,
Gottschalg R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.1080
Subject(s) - amorphous silicon , optoelectronics , amorphous solid , photovoltaic system , silicon , materials science , tungsten , calibration , layer (electronics) , voltage , solar cell , spectral line , degradation (telecommunications) , engineering physics , electronic engineering , crystalline silicon , electrical engineering , physics , nanotechnology , chemistry , engineering , organic chemistry , metallurgy , quantum mechanics , astronomy
The effects of different spectra on the laboratory based performance evaluation of amorphous silicon solar cells is investigated using an opto‐electrical model which was developed specifically for this purpose. The aim is to quantify uncertainties in the calibration process. Two main uncertainties arise from the differences in the test spectrum and the standard spectrum. First, the mismatch between reference cells and the measured device, which is shown to be voltage dependent in the case of amorphous silicon devices. Second, the fill factor of the device is affected by different spectra. Different cell structures and states (specifically different i‐layer thickness and levels of degradation) for the different light sources are investigated in this work. These sources are different solar simulators, LED sources, Tungsten as well as the standard terrestrial AM1.5G radiation. It is shown that the performance cannot be evaluated by short circuit current alone. The voltage dependent quantum efficiency of p‐i‐n devices can introduce a mismatch in the P MPP of 1% for 250 nm i‐layer devices in as prepared state, rising to up to 4% for the 600 nm i‐layer devices at degraded state. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.