Numerical modeling in photovoltaic applications

In this paper, the drift-diffusion numerical technique is discussed for the simulation of photovoltaic applications. The necessary differential equations, which are the Poisson and electron and hole charged particle continuity equations are explained, and the coupling between the above equations is discussed. Thereafter, the different physical processes involved in the simulation of thin film silicon photovoltaics are exploited. Then, all the transport properties related specifically to silicon and at a material temperature of 300 K such as the mobilities and diffusion coefficients for electrons and holes, the intrinsic silicon concentration, and generation and recombination mechanisms are identified from the literature. Finally, the formulation of the drift-diffusion model using finite elements in two-dimensional Cartesian and two-dimensional cylindrical axisymmetric coordinates is deployed to be used in the simulation of thin film photovoltaic applications.