Carrier recombination at dislocations was a major source of efficiency loss in epitaxial film Si solar cells and significantly affected the open circuit voltage, VOC. A simple empirical model was developed that yielded a logarithmic relationship between VOC and the dislocation density, which fitted the data well. Straightforward evaluation of device performance with this model provided qualitative information about the recombination activity at dislocations.

Dislocation-Limited Open Circuit Voltage in Film Crystal Silicon Solar Cells. K.Alberi, H.M.Branz, H.Guthrey, M.J.Romero, I.T.Martin, C.W.Teplin, P.Stradins, D.L.Young: Applied Physics Letters, 2012, 101[12], 123510