Numerical Simulation and Optimization of the Performances of a Solar Cell (p-i-n) Containing Amorphous Silicon Using AMPS-1D

A solar cell of p-i-n type, containing hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is simulated using the unidimensional computer code AMPS-1D. The objective of the present contribution is to investigate the effect of the thickness of the active layer a-Si:H(i) and the variation of its density of states (DOS) on the performances of the solar cell, namely the current of short circuit (J SC ), the tension of open circuit (V OC ), the form factor (FF) and the efficiency (E ff ). Also we aim to determine the structural parameters characterizing each layer constituting the cell. Our results show that the best thickness for the active layer that gives good performances of the studied solar cell lies between 300 and 600 nm. Besides, the best DOS that provides better output parameters of the solar cell is determined to be in the range 5.10 15 –10 16 cm −3 . After optimization, our findings give values of Voc = 1.193 V, Jsc = 13.145 mA cm −2 , FF = 0.807 which corresponds to an efficiency of E ff = 12.655%. The optimization has been done as a function of temperature and wavelength.