1 - Current-voltage (IV) measurementscurrent
From the data that was provided by the professors, we can represent the IV curve
behavior of the amorphous silicon and crystalline silicon solar cells that were analyzed.
With this information, we can also trace the relation of the power, P, produced by the
solar cell in relation to the applied voltage, from which we can find the maximum power
value in the PV curve (Pmax), as well as the corresponding current and voltage associated
with that value, from which we can determine the maximum power point (MPP) of the IV
curve. The IV and PV curves for each solar cell are represented in figures 1 and 2.
Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell (aSiH)
Figure 1: Current-Voltage curve of the amorphous silicon solar cell.
Reference Crystalline Solar Cell (Ref cSi)
Figure 2: Current-Voltage curve of the reference crystalline silicon solar cell.
, Extracted Parameters
The value of the series resistance, 𝑅𝑆, and the shunt (or parallel) resistance, 𝑅𝑆ℎ, (or
𝑅𝑃) can both be obtained from the inverse of the slope of the tendency lines we can define
with the values near 𝑉𝑂𝐶 (to determine Rs) and the values near 𝐼𝑆𝐶 (to determine 𝑅𝑆ℎ), like we
can observe in figure 3, for the solar cell with amorphous silicon, and figure 4, for the solar
cell with crystalline silicon.
1 1
𝑅𝑆 = 𝑅𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑡 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
𝑅𝑆ℎ = 𝑅𝑆ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑡 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
Figure 3 and 4: 𝑅𝑆 and 𝑅𝑆ℎtendency lines for the amorphous silicon solar cell (on the left) and
for the crystalline silicon solar cell (on the right).
The fill factor, that is a value that represents how close a solar cell is to its ideal
performance, and can be calculated with the equation 1:
𝑃𝑀𝐴𝑋
𝐹𝐹 = 𝑉𝑂𝐶 * 𝐼𝑆𝐶
(1)
The efficiency of the solar cell, η , that represents the percentage of incident light that
is being converted into electrical power, can be calculated with the equation 2, where 𝑃𝐼𝑛𝑐 is
the power of the incident light that hits the solar cell, in this case 1 Sun = 100mW/cm2.
𝑃𝑀𝐴𝑋
η = 𝑃𝐼𝑛𝑐
(2)
From all these gathered values, we depict, in table 1, the many parameters gathered
for the amorphous and crystalline silicon solar cells from their IV curves.
From the data that was provided by the professors, we can represent the IV curve
behavior of the amorphous silicon and crystalline silicon solar cells that were analyzed.
With this information, we can also trace the relation of the power, P, produced by the
solar cell in relation to the applied voltage, from which we can find the maximum power
value in the PV curve (Pmax), as well as the corresponding current and voltage associated
with that value, from which we can determine the maximum power point (MPP) of the IV
curve. The IV and PV curves for each solar cell are represented in figures 1 and 2.
Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell (aSiH)
Figure 1: Current-Voltage curve of the amorphous silicon solar cell.
Reference Crystalline Solar Cell (Ref cSi)
Figure 2: Current-Voltage curve of the reference crystalline silicon solar cell.
, Extracted Parameters
The value of the series resistance, 𝑅𝑆, and the shunt (or parallel) resistance, 𝑅𝑆ℎ, (or
𝑅𝑃) can both be obtained from the inverse of the slope of the tendency lines we can define
with the values near 𝑉𝑂𝐶 (to determine Rs) and the values near 𝐼𝑆𝐶 (to determine 𝑅𝑆ℎ), like we
can observe in figure 3, for the solar cell with amorphous silicon, and figure 4, for the solar
cell with crystalline silicon.
1 1
𝑅𝑆 = 𝑅𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑡 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
𝑅𝑆ℎ = 𝑅𝑆ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑡 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
Figure 3 and 4: 𝑅𝑆 and 𝑅𝑆ℎtendency lines for the amorphous silicon solar cell (on the left) and
for the crystalline silicon solar cell (on the right).
The fill factor, that is a value that represents how close a solar cell is to its ideal
performance, and can be calculated with the equation 1:
𝑃𝑀𝐴𝑋
𝐹𝐹 = 𝑉𝑂𝐶 * 𝐼𝑆𝐶
(1)
The efficiency of the solar cell, η , that represents the percentage of incident light that
is being converted into electrical power, can be calculated with the equation 2, where 𝑃𝐼𝑛𝑐 is
the power of the incident light that hits the solar cell, in this case 1 Sun = 100mW/cm2.
𝑃𝑀𝐴𝑋
η = 𝑃𝐼𝑛𝑐
(2)
From all these gathered values, we depict, in table 1, the many parameters gathered
for the amorphous and crystalline silicon solar cells from their IV curves.
