Prediction of local temperature‐dependent performance of silicon solar cells

• Published in: Progress in photovoltaics Vol. 27; no. 11; pp. 999 - 1006
• Main Authors: Eberle, Rebekka, Fell, Andreas, Mägdefessel, Sven, Schindler, Florian, Schubert, Martin C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bognor Regis Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Chromium; Circuits; Computer simulation; Dislocations; ELBA; Emitters; LBIC; lock‐in thermography; Parameter sensitivity; Photoluminescence; Photovoltaic cells; Predictions; Silicon; Silicon wafers; simulation; Solar cells; spatial resolution; Temperature dependence; temperature sensitivity; Thermal imaging; Thermography; Wafers
• ISSN: 1062-7995; 1099-159X
• DOI: 10.1002/pip.3130

In this study, we present a method to predict the local temperature‐dependent performance of silicon solar cells from wafer lifetime images, which enables local investigation of silicon solar cell parameters under realistic operation conditions. The multicrystalline silicon wafers investigated underwent high‐temperature steps equivalent to emitter diffusion and contact firing for the production of a passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) solar cell. Injection and temperature‐dependent lifetime images, gathered by calibrated photoluminescence (PL) imaging, are combined with numerical cell device simulations using Quokka3. Hereby, the spatially resolved open‐circuit voltage VOC, short‐circuit current density jSC, fill factor FF, and the efficiency η of a virtual solar cell based on the characterized material are predicted for various temperatures. These data are used to compute temperature coefficients of the aforementioned cell parameters. Our predictions are validated by a comparison with measurement results of cells made from sister wafers, which are analyzed globally and spatially resolved via PL imaging, Lock‐in Thermography, and Light‐Beam‐Induced‐Current measurements. We observed a lower temperature sensitivity of IV parameters in dislocation clusters despite of expecting high changes with temperature, which might be explainable by Shockley‐Read‐Hall (SRH) recombination of impurities like interstitial chromium. We present a method to predict the spatially resolved and temperature‐dependent performance of silicon solar cells from wafer lifetime images. This enables local investigation of silicon solar cell parameters under realistic operation conditions. Injection‐dependent bulk lifetime gathered by calibrated photoluminescence imaging at varying temperatures are combined with a numerical cell simulation using Quokka3 to predict the temperature‐dependent performance of a solar cell made out of the characterized material.