Analyzing the PN junction impedance of crystalline silicon solar cells across varied illumination and temperature conditions

The impedance of solar cells can be leveraged for a variety of innovative applications. However, for the continued advancement of such applications, it is crucial to understand how the impedance varies during practical operation. This work characterizes the impedance of modern crystalline silicon solar cells across different bias voltages and under varying illumination and temperature conditions. It is found that for a given bias voltage, variations in temperature have a notably stronger impact on PN junction impedance than changes in irradiance. However, during maximum power point (MPP) tracking, variations in irradiance have a larger influence on the PN junction impedance than temperature variations. This is related to the shifting operating voltage during operation. Furthermore, it is shown that the capacitance during practical operation can strongly vary for different solar cells. For instance, the areal MPP capacitance values of the two cells tested in this study at 0.1 sun irradiance and a temperature of 30 °C were 0.283 μ F/cm 2 and 20.2 μ F/cm 2 , a 71-fold difference. Conversely, the range of the MPP diffusion resistance was found to be highly similar for different cells. The results of this study enhance the understanding of solar-cell impedance and have a broad applicability. • The effect of illumination and temperature on solar-cell impedance is analyzed. • Temperature affects the capacitance–voltage relationship more than illumination. • During real-world operation, MPPT continually changes the bias voltage. • Accounting for MPPT, illumination dominates the operational MPP impedance. • Two cells show a 71-fold difference in areal MPP capacitance in the same conditions.