Temperature effects in Schottky-barrier silicon solar cells

Experimental results are reported concerning temperature effects from 25 to 125°C on Schottky-barrier solar cells which were fabricated using a semitransparent Cu/Cr barrier metal layer on p-type silicon. The open-circuit voltage decreased by 2.3 mV/°C and the fill factor by 0.11%/°C, while the short-circuit current increased slightly with increased temperature. These results are consistent with previous work on p-n-junction silicon solar cells. The diode quality factor n was shown to decrease with increased temperature, as predicted by field emission theory. The room-temperature photovoltaic output of cell 96 remained at 0.54 V, 25.4 mA/cm², and 8.5-10.6% efficiency using 80-100-mW/cm² sunlight illumination after repeated temperature cycling.