Relating Charge Transport, Contact Properties, and Recombination to Open-Circuit Voltage in Sandwich-Type Thin-Film Solar Cells

Thin-film solar cells are at the forefront of current energy research. A detailed theory to define how charges recombine---and so how performance is reduced---at electrical contacts to these films is lacking. This study derives analytic expressions that directly relate the open-circuit voltage to contact, material, and device properties. Drift-diffusion simulations verify their analytical expressions, and agree well with experiments.