Extracting dc parameters of solar cells under illumination

This paper presents a comparative study of four methods for extracting solar cell parameters of the single diode lumped circuit model. These parameters are usually the saturation current, the series resistance, the ideality factor, the shunt conductance and the photocurrent. The methods are the vertical optimization method, the modified analytical five-point method, and two methods we have proposed, are based on the current-voltage characteristics and the subsequently calculated conductance. Parameter values were extracted using these different methods from experimental I-V characteristics of a commercial solar cell and a module. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.