Author(s)

Meimouna Mint Sidi Dede¹, Mamadou Lamine Ba¹, Mamour Amadou Ba¹, Mor Ndiaye¹, Sega Gueye¹, El Hadj Sow¹, Ibrahima Diatta¹, Masse Samba Diop¹, Mamadou Wade², Gregoire Sissoko¹

¹Laboratory of Semiconductors and Solar Energy, Physics Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
²Ecole Polytechnique de Thiès (EPT), Thiès, Senegal.

The monochromatic absorption coefficient of silicon, inducing the light penetration depth into the base of the solar cell, is used to determine the optimum thickness necessary for the production of a large photocurrent. The absorption-generation-diffusion and recombination (bulk and surface) phenomena are taken into account in the excess minority carrier continuity equation. The solution of this equation gives the photocurrent according to absorption and electronic parameters. Then from the obtained short circuit photocurrent expression, excess minority carrier back surface recombination velocity is determined, function of the monochromatic absorption coefficient at a given wavelength. This latter plotted versus base thickness yields the optimum thickness of an n⁺-p-p⁺ solar cell, for each wavelength, which is in the range close to the energy band gap of the silicon material. This study provides a tool for improvement solar cell manufacture processes, through the mathematical relationship obtained from the thickness limit according to the absorption coefficient that allows base width optimization.

Silicon Solar Cell, Absorption Coefficient, Back Surface Recombination, Optimum Thickness

Sidi Dede, M. , Lamine Ba, M. , Amadou Ba, M. , Ndiaye, M. , Gueye, S. , Sow, E. , Diatta, I. , Diop, M. , Wade, M. and Sissoko, G. (2020) Back Surface Recombination Velocity Dependent of Absorption Coefficient as Applied to Determine Base Optimum Thickness of an n+/p/p+ Silicon Solar Cell. Energy and Power Engineering, 12, 445-458. doi: 10.4236/epe.2020.127027.