The effect of temperature on the optimization of photovoltaic cells using Silvaco ATLAS modeling

Abstract

In this thesis, the author analyzes the effect of temperature on the performance of photovoltaic cells using a virtual wafer fabrication tool called Silvaco ATLAS. Work from a previous Naval Postgraduate School thesis provided the initial InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell design used in this analysis. As is often done, the previous work on this solar cell involved optimizing it at 300 K, even though operating temperatures are typically higher. Therefore, for this thesis, the author models each subcell of the multijunction solar cell at 275 to 400 K in 25-degree increments while varying their thicknesses and doping levels, as well as varying the molecular composition of InGaP. The author chose to vary these design parameters to observe their effect on performance and suggest a better design for operating at higher temperatures. The percent improvement increases to more than 11.9% as the temperature increases to 400 K when the author increases the mole fraction of InGaP and the doping in the GaAs emitter and the base of each subcell.