Photovoltaic cell power loss mechanism

What is loss process in solar cells?

Loss processes in solar cells consist of two parts: intrinsic losses (fundamental losses) and extrinsic losses. Intrinsic losses are unavoidable in single bandgap solar cells, even if in the idealized solar cells .

How do dominant losses affect solar cell efficiency?

Dominant losses and parameters of affecting the solar cell efficiency are discussed. Non-radiative recombination loss is remarkable in high-concentration-ratio solar cells. Series resistance plays a key role in limiting non-radiative recombination loss.

What are solar cell losses?

These losses may happen during the solar cell's light absorption, charge creation, charge collecting, and electrical output processes, among others. Two types of solar cell losses can be distinguished: intrinsic and extrinsic losses (Hirst and Ekins-Daukes, 2011).

How do cell parameters affect photovoltaic loss processes?

Considering that the parameters of the cells greatly affect the loss processes in photovoltaic devices, the sensitivities of loss processes to structure parameters (e.g., external radiative efficiency, solid angle of absorption, resistances, etc.) and operating parameters (e.g., operating temperature) are studied.

What is encapsulation of solar cells into a photovoltaic module?

The encapsulation of solar cells into a photovoltaic module introduces some optical loss mechanisms as shown schematically in Figure 1. Typically, the output power of the module is less than the total sum of individual cells. This difference is referred to as cell-to-module (CTM) losses.

What are extrinsic losses in single bandgap solar cells?

Besides the intrinsic losses, extrinsic losses, such as non-radiative recombination (NRR) loss, series resistance (Rse) loss, shunt resistance (Rsh) loss and parasitic absorption loss [12, 15], also play a very important role in loss processes in single bandgap solar cells. Different from intrinsic losses, they are avoidable .