Simulation of cadmium telluride solar cells structure

Abstract

A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is designed to convert sunlight into electrical energy through the photoelectric effect. Solar cells are the most attractive source to harness solar energy; it is not only has high efficiency, but also protect our environment from pollution and producing zero greenhouse effect. There have been numerous studies on cadmium telluride (CdTe) compound in solar cell research as studies shows that CdTe can provide a good efficiency and yet cost effective. This paper presents a simple study investigating cadmium telluride solar cells structure by using MATLAB software. This study is aimed to investigate the parameters such as drift component, diffusion component, thickness also to analyse the efficiency of the cadmium telluride layer. The studies conclude that in order to achieve an efficiency of 28-30%, the thickness of the CdTe layer, the uncompensated acceptor concentration and carrier lifetime should be ≥12μm, ≥1016cm-3 and ≥ 10-11s respectively.