Evaluation des performances dune cellule solaire hétérojonction àbase de CdS/CdTe

Abstract

CdS and CdTe compounds continue to be leading materials for the development of reliable and efficient photovoltaic cells. The two key properties of these materials are its band gaps (2.42 eV and 1.5 eV, respectively) close to ideal for photovoltaic conversion efficiency (1.45 eV), and its high optical absorption coefficients. Solar cells based on CdS and CdTe are generally heterojunctions. CdS is often used as an n-type emitter or window layer, while CdTe is often used as a p-type base or absorber layer. According to the literature, conversion efficiencies up to 22% have been achieved, but there is still some potential to increase them. In this work, we carried out a parametric optimization study by simulation of the CdS/CdTe heterojunction cell, in order to improve current performances. The results obtained show that the conversion efficiency of the studied heterojunction can reach 26% by minimizing losses due to reflection as much as possible.