Detailed balance approximation

This solver calculates the electrical properties of the junction by balancing the elementary processes taking place in the solar cell, carrier generation and radiative recombination, using the formalism described by Araújo and Martí (1996) ([1]). The method is widely used by the photovoltaic community to calculate the limiting conversion efficiencies of the different solar cell architectures or materials. The simplest DB formulation only needs an absorption edge energy and an absorptivity value above that edge. Out of this, the carrier generation and radiative recombination are calculated for different internal chemical potentials, equal to the external electrical bias, in the ideal case. Solcore includes this basic model, but also allows the user to provide a more complex absorption profile.

For a more detailed description of the implementation of the DB solver in Solcore, refer to the main Solcore paper (open access) and references therein.

Detailed balance functions

References