Combining 2D and 3D device simulation with circuit simulation for optimising high-efficiency silicon solar cells

Abstract

This paper reports on simulation techniques developed for the modelling and optimisation of complete, 2x cm^2, high-efficiency silicon solar cells. We use three-dimensional (3D) device simulation to extract a J-V curve of an interior section of a cell. 2D simulations of the cell perimeter are then used to correct the J-V curves for the loss of carriers across the cell boundary. The resulting characteristics are input to a circuit simulation which connects the various cell sections into a model of a full cell. The J-V curve which results from that simulation can be directly compared to measured data. We find excellent agreement between simulation and measurement.