Abstract

The optical and geometrical properties of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) are crucial factors influencing the efficiency of (Formula presented.) heterojunction (HIT) solar cells. Graphene is a potential candidate to be used as TCO due to its optical and electrical properties. Here, the effect of graphene as TCO is numerically analyzed by varying the number of graphene layers from one to ten. First, the optical properties are calculated based on the transmittance data, and then the HJT cell’s performance is simulated under the AM1.5 standard spectrum and the mean Atacama Desert solar spectral irradiance in Chile. In the modeling, the most relevant properties are calculated with the spectrum of the Atacama Desert. The most relevant values were obtained as follows: open circuit voltage (Formula presented.), short circuit current (Formula presented.), fill factor (Formula presented.), and energy conversion efficiency (Formula presented.). The maximum power of solar panels irradiated with the Atacama Desert spectrum exceeds the results obtained with the AM1.5 standard spectrum by (Formula presented.). When graphene is the transparent conducting oxide, quantum efficiency has a higher value in the ultraviolet range, which shows that it may be convenient to use graphene-based solar cells in places where ultraviolet intensity is high. © 2023 by the authors.