Parameter Extraction of a Solar Cell Compact Model usign Genetic Algorithms

We present a method to extract the model parameters of illuminated solar cells based on genetic algorithms. The solar cell model is the well known lumped parameter equivalent circuit containing four components. Its mathematical description has been made explicit using of the Lambert function. We have tested the ability of our method against a direct extraction method to give back some known results. The test consists in fitting I-V characteristics of an organic photovoltaic solar cell obtained from randomly generated parameters. The accuracy and the reliability of the results are much higher, particularly concerning the reverse saturation current. The time needed to perform the extraction of each set of parameter is around 100 s in a PC with a dual core processor, at 3.5 GHz with 2 GB RAM.