Simulating solar cells with a microcomputer

Designing modern silicon solar cells in order to get the maximum efficiency requires the inclusion of effects such as the variation of diffusion length, and electric field as a function of impurity concentration in nonhomogeneous silicon. In this paper, it is shown that it is possible to develop an efficient computer program to simulate the I–V curves of solar cells, which takes into account such effects, when low‐injection conditions apply to the semiconductor. The program can be run in any PC microcomputer, without any coprocessor, giving results similar to larger programs, in a fraction of the time usually required for this purpose. The program allows the inclusion of internal resistances (series and shunt) in order to compare the ideal and real behavior of a given solar cell. Conversion efficiency, open circuit voltage, short circuit current, and filling factor are obtained for a set of fabrication parameters, such as substrate and emitter dopings, thicknesses, and surface recombination velocities. The results are in agreement with recent experimental results.