Leakage of photocurrent: an alternative view on I-V curves of solar cells

An alternative way is proposed to interpret I - V characteristics of GaInP single-junction solar cells by position-dependent leakage of photocurrent. With this approach, the I - V curves of solar cells under non-uniform illumination are well analyzed. The effective spreading resistance is also extracted to understand the dynamic behavior of between the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current points. The conditions under which the onediode model will fail are addressed in detail. These analyses are also applicable for a characterization of the I - V curves with lateral voltage distribution under uniform illumination.