TCAD simulation methodology for 3-D electro-physical and optical analysis

Numerical modeling and simulation provide an efficient tool for analysis and optimization of device structure design. In this paper we present a method for the design of solar cell. Three methodologies for fully coupled rigorous electro-physical and optical simulation of solar cell are proposed. The first one is based on full 3-D modeling employing TCAD tools applied to a simple solar cell. The second approach, using combined 2-DB-D modeling, is applied to a simple solar cell that reduces the computation time while maintaining a reasonable accuracy. In the third approach we propose a smart coupling between the device and the package that combines the speed and accuracy of mixed mode simulation assuming additional 3-D effects.