Mechanisms limiting open circuit voltage in silicon solar cells

This paper reports the results of research on mechanisms limiting open circuit voltage in conventional p/n junction silicon solar cells, with a view toward both the understanding of various heavy-doping effects and the achievement of high conversion efficiency. Experimental and theoretical studies have been conducted in order to correlate heavy-doping effects to actual solar cell performance. The experiments have utilized a variety of emitter configurations with various doping concentrations in order to emphasize a number of concentration-dependent mechanisms. The theoretical modeling addresses the determination of both recombination velocity at the passivated front surface and effects of recombination at the front ohmic contact.