Impact of Magnetic Field and Temperature on the Performance of a Radial Junction Solar Cell

Abstract

The optimization of photovoltaic performance drives research into innovative architectures, notably radial junction solar cells. Unlike planar cells, they separate light absorption (axial) from carrier collection (radial), reducing collection paths, improving defect tolerance, and allowing the use of lower quality materials. However, the combined effect of magnetic field and temperature remains poorly studied. We present a two‐dimensional analytical model for a radial polycrystalline silicon cell under an axial magnetic field and thermal variations. The model provides expressions for photocurrent, photovoltage, and conversion efficiency as functions of field and temperature. At low field ( B ≤ 0.000398 T), efficiency reaches 14.8% but drops to 0.0187% at higher fields. Increasing temperature slightly raises photocurrent but significantly reduces efficiency. These theoretical results highlight the need to simultaneously control magnetic and thermal effects to optimize performance.