Performance evaluation of advanced solar cells

Abstract

Generation of electricity from solar energy has been a sought-after field of research for the last few decades as the radiation of photons from the sun is an unlimited, clean source of energy. However, maximizing the effective conversion of electric energy from solar energy in a cost-effective way is still a challenge researchers are trying to overcome. The average efficiency of solar cells still needs to be improved by a large margin in order to compete with the fossil-fuel based energy-sources. The costs associated with the production and installment of solar panels need to be lowered as well. Silicon is the most used material for manufacturing solar cells for appurtenant reasons. In order to improve the efficiency while lowering the cost, the structure of silicon solar cells have been evolving since it was developed first in 1954. In this thesis, the performance of advanced solar cells is examined by simulation. In the simulation, two structural parameters of a solar cell, the cell thickness and the length of shading of finger are varied separately and the outcomes are observed. For the simulation, Quokka simulation software with MATLAB compiler were used.