Modeling the response of an illuminated polysilicon solar cell under the influence of radio waves, a 3D approach

Abstract

This work investigated the response of an illuminated polysilicon PV cell under AM radio waves. Using a 3 D analysis, the equations which describe the movement of excess electrons and their space and time behavior were solved in order to first find the density of the excess electrons and to subsequently derive the current density and the voltage. The effect of the amplitude of the electromagnetic field (EMF) on the current density and the voltage were studied by varying the distance between the PV cell and an AM radio antenna. The combination of the two characteristics, i.e. current density–voltage and Power–Voltageallowed the computation of the efficiency, the fill factor and the parasitic resistances (Rs, Rsh) of the electrical equivalent circuit of the PV cell. The study showed that from infinite distance to 50 m, corresponding to the Fraunhofer zone, the conversion efficiency increases slightly by about 1% and the fill factor decreases within the same order of magnitude. On the other hand, the series and shunt resistances fall considerably down by about 14% and 13% respectively.The power output curves versus the junction dynamic velocity which allow the computation of the shunt resistance, are used to highlight the impact of the electromagnetic field (EMF) on the operation of the cell. Between an infinite distance and 50 m, the results indicate a very high drop of the shunt resistance (from 64,280 Ω cm 2 to 11 Ω cm 2). Overall, one can conclude that the presence of EMF adversely affects the operation of polysilicon PV cell considering the high drop of the shunt resistance.

Keywords

• Modeling
• Polysilicon solar cell
• Radio waves
• 3-D