Employment of single-diode model to elucidate the variations in photovoltaic parameters under different electrical and thermal conditions

PLoS One. 2017 Aug 9;12(8):e0182925. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182925. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

In this research work, numerical simulations are performed to correlate the photovoltaic parameters with various internal and external factors influencing the performance of solar cells. Single-diode modeling approach is utilized for this purpose and theoretical investigations are compared with the reported experimental evidences for organic and inorganic solar cells at various electrical and thermal conditions. Electrical parameters include parasitic resistances (Rs and Rp) and ideality factor (n), while thermal parameters can be defined by the cells temperature (T). A comprehensive analysis concerning broad spectral variations in the short circuit current (Isc), open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF) and efficiency (η) is presented and discussed. It was generally concluded that there exists a good agreement between the simulated results and experimental findings. Nevertheless, the controversial consequence of temperature impact on the performance of organic solar cells necessitates the development of a complementary model which is capable of well simulating the temperature impact on these devices performance.

MeSH terms

  • Electric Power Supplies*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Solar Energy*
  • Temperature*

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported in part by Research University Grant (RUG), UTM Malaysia (Vot:Q.J130000.21A2.03E00), and in part by the University of Human Development. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.