Lateral current effects on the voltage distribution in the emitter of solar cells under concentrated sunlight

The design of the grid contact in silicon solar cells is one of the most important steps for the optimization and fabrication of these energy conversion devices. The voltage drop due to the lateral flow of current towards the grid fingers can be a limiting factor causing the reduction of conversion efficiency. For low current levels this voltage drop can be made small, for typical values of sheet resistance in the emitter, but for solar cells made to operate at high sun concentrations this efficiency loss can be important, unless there is a clear vision of the current and voltage distribution so that the emitter and grid design can be improved. Hence, it is important to establish and solve the current and voltage distribution equations for solar cells with a grid contact. In this work, first these equations are established and then they are solved in order to show the effects that the lateral current flow in the emitter cause on the voltage distribution, particularly at high illumination levels. In addition, it will be shown that the open circuit voltage is significantly reduced due to the lateral current flow as compared to the value predicted from a simple equivalent circuit with a lumped resistance model. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.