Electrothermal simulation of a defect in a solar cell

A local electrothermal simulation of a model solar cell is presented. A rigorous discussion of the heat dissipation mechanisms in a solar cell is performed, showing that the total dissipated heat splits into heating terms (thermalization, recombination, and Joule heat) and different Peltier cooling terms. Such simulations are important for interpreting lock-in thermography images of real solar cells. The simulated model cell consists of a circular noncontacted region surrounded by a grid line and a nonlinear edge shunt. Based on this simulation, a special lock-in thermography operation mode is proposed, which enables noncontacted regions in real solar cells to be imaged. Experimental results confirm the theoretical predictions. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.