Short-circuit current in silicon solar cells—Dependence on cell parameters

An analytical expression relating the short-circuit current of an n-p silicon solar cell under AM0 illumination to the minority carrier diffusion length of the base region has been derived and compared with previous and new experimental data. The dependence of the short-circuit current upon other solar cell parameters has also been determined analytically. Finally, in the course of systematically reducing the base-region minority-carrier diffusion length by using penetrating electron irradiation, the 1.0-MeV electron damage coefficient for several standard and new types of solar cells has been measured.