The solar cell characterizations covered in this chapter address the electrical power generating capabilities of the cell.
Some of these covered characteristics pertain to the workings within the cell structure (e.g., charge carrier lifetimes) while the majority of the highlighted characteristics help establish the macro per-formance of the finished solar cell (e.g., spectral response, maximum power out-put).
Solar cell parameters gained from every I-V curve include the short circuit current, Isc, the open circuit voltage, Voc, the current Imax and voltage Vmax at the maximum power point Pmax, the fill factor (FF), and the power conversion efficiency of the cell, η [2–6].
It affects PV cell performance characteristics, including open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, cell temperature, and efficiency , as well as underlying factors like series resistance, shunt resistance, diode ideality factor, and reverse saturation current .
Several atmospheric conditions can affect the output of solar PV systems. This section considers five factors: clouds, pollutants, humidity, dust, and wind speeds. 4.1. Cloud characteristics Cloud cover strongly impacts solar PV output, primarily by reducing the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) received [90, 91].
The performance ratio (normalised efficiency) is relatively constant across all types of solar cell above 400 W/m 2 but falls by 7–9% at 150 W/m 2 . Series resistance increases with falling irradiance, but the absolute power loss from this is lessened by the current also being lower.