Study of Heat Losses in Crystalline Silicon and Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Energy from the sun is plentiful and sustainable, making it an excellent alternative to fossil fuels. Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells can directly convert this solar energy into electricity. However, PV solar cells face challenges in achieving high efficiency as some of the captured energy is lost as heat or through other means, reducing efficiency and performance. Researchers are constantly trying to improve the efficiency of solar cells. Silicon-based solar cells are widely used and have practical efficiency that keeps improving, reaching close to the theoretical limit of around 30%. One approach to increase the output of solar cells is converting the heat losses back into electricity, consequently boosting the overall efficiency of solar conversion. This heat recycling can be achieved by integrating photovoltaic (PV) devices with thermoelectric materials, which capture and recycle wasted heat. This thesis aims to lay the groundwork required for achieving this objective by studying the heat loss mechanisms and conducting evaluations of some of those mechanisms.This research focuses on understanding and categorizing the losses in solar cells, particularly the below bandgap energy and thermalization losses, which are responsible for more than half of the total losses. Two types of solar cells, crystalline silicon (c-Si) and CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite (C-P), are studied to analyze their loss characteristics.