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- Title
Long-term conversion efficiency characteristics of thin film solar cells.
- Authors
Machida, Sadayuki; Tani, Tatsuo
- Abstract
For the optimum design of a photovoltaic power generation system, it is necessary to accurately estimate their annual power output. However, the output of a thin film solar cell (in this paper, layered tandem a-Si and CdS/CdTe) varies with the spectral distribution of solar radiation as well as with the Staebler–Wronski effect. Changes in the spectral distribution of solar radiation are caused by variations in air mass movement and water vapor content of the atmosphere. The output of thin film solar cells is seriously affected because of their narrow spectral response band. The Staebler–Wronski effect is a phenomenon where the photoconductivity degrades by light irradiation and recovers by heating. Since several factors can affect the output in such a way, it is difficult to accurately estimate the power output of thin film solar cells for an entire year. In this paper, we will show a method for calculating the power output from the spectral distribution of solar radiation. We will also attempt to clarify the degradation and recovery due to the Staebler–Wronski effect by making a comparison between the conversion efficiency calculated by this method and the conversion efficiency obtained from measured data. The results revealed that the initial degradation of conversion efficiency of layered tandem a-Si and CdS/CdTe solar cells are 22 and 15% (including the degradation due to dirt 6 to 7%), and the recovery are 5 and 10%. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 137(4): 1–9, 2001
- Subjects
PHOTOVOLTAIC power generation; SOLAR cells; SOLAR radiation; ATMOSPHERIC water vapor; SPECTRAL sensitivity; PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY; IRRADIATION; HEATING
- Publication
Electrical Engineering in Japan, 2001, Vol 137, Issue 4, p1
- ISSN
0424-7760
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/eej.1097