Solcore evolved from SOL, a Fortran-based, quantum well solar cell solver developed by Nelson and Connelly , with the explicit purpose of simplifying its integration in other programs, its expansion with custom routines and algorithms, and being didactic and informative. Solcore is a multi-scale, modular simulation framework for solar energy research, written mostly in Python.
While users can provide their own inputs and, in some cases, access the source code of the programs and customize some aspects of them, they are not designed with that purpose in mind. On the contrary, specific programs like AFORS-HET or PC1D are extremely fast and efficient, but limited in the problems they can solve, in this case 1D heterostructures and solar cells.Īpart from a few exceptions, such as PVlib , all these solvers are high-level, self-contained applications. In general, programs like ATLAS and SENTAURUS provide a general purpose, easy to use interface-often solving multi-physics problems, such as electrical transport coupled with thermal transport-to the detriment of performance.
An extensive list of software for solar energy research-both online calculators and downloadable programs-has been compiled by PV Lighthouse .
Several free and commercial programs, not specifically designed for solar energy research, have also been used historically, including AFORS-HET , Nextnano , ATLAS or SENTAURUS , with the first two focused on the device and semiconductor properties and the latter two also solving the optics of the solar cells, among other properties. For example, to calculate the solar spectrum as a function of the atmospheric conditions a traditional solution is to use SMARTS the light absorption profile in the solar cell or even at module level could be addressed by OPTOS or OPAL2 while to solve the transport equations of a solar cell one could use PC1D , SCAPS or Quokka . Over the years, and with different degrees of sophistication, many pieces of software have been developed and published to tackle different aspects of solar energy research. Laboratory scale tests can be usefully compared against detailed models that account for all relevant processes or with ideal, thermodynamically limited behaviour. In this article, we summarize the capabilities in addition to providing the physical insight and mathematical formulation behind the software with the purpose of serving as both a research and teaching tool.Ĭomputer-aided design and device models are valuable tools when developing and evaluating photovoltaic solar cells. The model is a multi-scale simulation accounting for nanoscale phenomena such as the quantum confinement effects of semiconductor nanostructures, to micron level propagation of light through to the overall performance of solar arrays, including the modelling of the spectral irradiance based on atmospheric conditions.
Uniquely, it combines a complete semiconductor solver capable of modelling the optical and electrical properties of a wide range of solar cells, from quantum well devices to multi-junction solar cells.
Calculations can be performed on ideal, thermodynamic limiting behaviour, through to fitting experimentally accessible parameters such as dark and light IV curves and luminescence. Solcore is a modular set of computational tools, written in Python 3, for the design and simulation of photovoltaic solar cells. Computational models can provide significant insight into the operation mechanisms and deficiencies of photovoltaic solar cells.