ANALYSIS OF APPARENT QUANTUM EFFICIENCY

Quantum efficiency measurements were made on both crystalline silicon and polycrystalline thin film solar cells. Such measurements are generally reliable input for photocurrent loss analysis when the forward current of the diode is small compared to the photogenerated current. All cells, however, exhibit major reductions in apparent quantum efficiency under forward bias. For the crystalline cells, this reduction is fully explained by the series resistances of the circuit and the cell. For polycrystalline cells, the voltage dependence is often additionally affected by an increase in diode quality factor or a reduction in series resistance with radiation intensity. In no case does the voltage dependence of collection efficiency play a significant role. © 1990.