133 / 2019-06-09 16:03:54

Equivalent Circuit Models for Next Generation Photovoltaic Devices with S-shaped I-V Curves

solar cell,organic solar cell,equivalent circuit model,S-shaped kink,next-generation photovoltaic devices

Certain still un-optimized emergent photovoltaic devices that are being developed for next generation solar cell applications exhibit under illumination an unwanted S-shaped concave kink in their current-voltage characteristics that substantially hinders the photovoltaic device’s energy conversion efficiency. This anomalous behavior occurs in the I-V curves of several types of solar cells, such as some organic cells and various other kinds of still evolving devices, which look promising as potential candidates for future photovoltaic applications. The underlying physical phenomena responsible for the detrimental S-shaped kink can be conveniently modeled using lumped-parameter equivalent circuits that adequately reproduce the illuminated S-shaped I-V characteristics. We examine and discuss here the most prominent types of such
equivalent circuit model configurations.