A Novel Approach for the Development and Optimization of State-of-the- Art Photovoltaic Devices Using Silvaco

This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A676704. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: In this thesis, a new method for developing realistic simulation models of advanced solar cells is presented. Several electrical and optical properties of exotic materials, used in such designs, are researched and calculated. Additional software has been developed to facilitate and enhance the modeling process. Furthermore, specific models of an InGaP/GaAs and of an InGaP/ GaAs/Ge muhi-junction solar cells are prepared and are tally simulated. The major stages of the process are explained and the simulation results are compared to published experimental data. Finally, additional optimization is performed on the last state-of-the-art cell, to further improve its efficiency. The flexibility of the proposed methodology is demonstrated and example results are shown throughout the whole process.