Si Solar Cell 1D

Application ID: 35661


This tutorial uses a simple 1D model of a silicon solar cell to illustrate the basic steps to set up and perform a device physics simulation with the Semiconductor Module. A user-defined expression is used for the photo-generation rate and the result shows typical I-V and P-V curves of solar cells.

The carrier generation mechanism from the photovoltaic effect is not modeled in detail. Instead, a user-defined expression is used for the total generation rate, based on Beer's law with the empirical Si absorption spectra and an approximated AM1.5 spectra. The Shockley-Read-Hall model is employed to capture the main recombination effect. Under normal operating conditions, photo-generated carriers are swept to each side of the depletion region of the p-n junction. A small forward bias voltage is applied to extract the electrical power, given by the product of the photocurrent and the applied voltage.

To learn more about this example, see a related blog post: "Analyzing a Silicon Solar Cell Design with the Semiconductor Module".

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: