Detailed Balance Limit of Efficiency of p–n Junction Solar Cells

Many papers have been written about the efficiency of solar cells employing p-n junctions in semiconductors, the great potential of the silicon solar cell having been emphasized by Chapin, Fuller and Pearson 1 in 1954. Also in 1954, Pfann and van Roosbroeck 2 gave a more detailed treatment including analytic expressions optimizing or matching the load. A further treatment was given by Prince 3 in 1955, in which the efficiency was calculated as a function of the energy gap. Loferski 4 has attempted to predict the dependence of efficiency upon energy gap in more detail. Review papers have recently appeared in two journals in this country.5,6