Radiation-induced defect modeling and performance degradation in PERC silicon solar cells under heavy ion irradiation

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2026.114193

Heavy ions in the space environment significantly degrade the performance of space-borne electronics. This study investigates heavy-ion-induced electrical degradation in passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) silicon solar cells using technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulations incorporating a radiation effect module (REM). The REM integrates vacancy generation data from Monte Carlo simulations, while non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) is used to quantify radiation damage across ion energies and fluence levels relevant to space missions. Oxygen (O) and iron (Fe) ions are considered as representative medium- and heavy-mass species. The simulated device is calibrated against experimental data, showing good agreement. Results indicate that Fe ions cause more severe degradation than O ions within the same projected range due to higher NIEL, with maximum damage occurring at energies between 10 and 100 MeV. This work extends radiation studies beyond protons, alpha particles, and electrons, supporting radiation hardness qualification and the development of radiation-tolerant solar cells for space applications.