Journal Article

FZJ-2018-05917

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png What Makes a Good Solar Cell?

Kirchartz, T. (Corresponding author)FZJ* ; Rau, U.FZJ*

2018
Wiley-VCH Weinheim

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/19903  doi:10.1002/aenm.201703385

Abstract: Recent years have seen a substantial efficiency improvement for a variety of solar cell technologies as well as the rise of a new class of photovoltaic absorber materials, the metal‐halide perovskites. Conversion efficiencies that are coming closer and closer to the thermodynamic limits require a physical description of the corresponding solar cells that is compatible with those limits. This progress report summarizes recent work on the interdependence of basic material properties of semiconductor materials with their efficiency potential as photovoltaic absorbers. The connection of the classical Shockley–Queisser approach, with the band gap energy as the only parameter, to a more general radiative limit and to situations where nonradiative recombination dominates is discussed. The authors delineate a consistent loss analysis that enables a quantitative comparison between different solar cell technologies. In a next step, bulk material properties that influence the photovoltaic performance of a semiconductor like absorption coefficient, densities of states of the free carriers, or phonon energies are considered. It is shown that variations of these properties have a big influence on the optimized design of a solar cell but not necessarily on the achievable efficiency.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Photovoltaik (IEK-5)

Research Program(s):

1. 121 - Solar cells of the next generation (POF3-121) (POF3-121)

Appears in the scientific report 2018

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Database coverage:
; ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Engineering, Computing and Technology ; Current Contents - Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences ; Ebsco Academic Search ; IF >= 20 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection

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