Thermodynamic limit on the open circuit voltage of solar cells

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new thermodynamic limit for the open circuit voltage of solar cells, incorporating thermalization effects and linking it to existing limits and thermoelectric principles.

Contribution

It presents a novel thermodynamic limit based on photon entropy that unifies various existing solar cell efficiency bounds.

Findings

New limit includes thermalization effects

Links photovoltaic limits to thermoelectric principles

Provides a graphical method to relate different bounds

Abstract

A new thermodynamic limit for the open circuit voltage of solar cells that includes thermalization is obtained in terms of photon entropy. A simple graphical construction makes it possible to link this limit to the existing limits for single junction cells due to Trivich and Flinn, Shockley and Queisser and W\"urfel, and the thermodynamic Carnot-type limit for hot-carrier solar cell. At the fundamental level, this limit points to similarity between photovoltaic and thermoelectric energy conversion.