The Photocurrent and Spectral Response of a Proposed p+p n n+ Silicon Solar Cell

Abstract

Abstract-Lot of research work has been done so far to increase the efficiency of silicon p-n junction solar cells, which convert solar energy directly to electrical energy. It is well known that the incorporation of a low-high junction at the back of a conventional p-n junction solar cell gives rise to a p⁺ n n⁺ structure with a back surface field (BSF), which increases the efficiency of the p-n junction solar cell. Similarly, the performance of a solar cell is significantly improved by the incorporation of a front surface field (FSF) in it. In the present work, a p⁺ p n n⁺ structure solar cell has been proposed in which high-low junction is present in the front as well as the rear side of the solar cell to get the advantage of both the BSF and the FSF solar cells. The expressions for photocurrent and spectral response of this structure have been obtained analytically and their variations with different device parameters and wavelength of incident light have been shown graphically. It is observed from theoretical considerations that this structure gives improved performance over previous silicon solar cell structures.